There was an early morning phone call which was quite unusual.
Both Bernadette and I were in the news and information business but rarely did the phone ring at such an hour.
Berna's sister, Angie, was serving her term as Miss America 2001 and was, literally, traveling the world.
It was Angie on the line.
"Turn the TV on. We're at war"
She was calling Hawai‘i family and friends from LAX, told us, prayed with us and called others.
The images broadcast was startling, even on the brink of surreal.
The World Trade Center in New York City was in flames enveloped in smoke.
Bernadette bolted to our son, Zachary's room, took him from his crib and held him while we watched quietly, sadly as the pictures and the narration told the story of what was believed to be a terrorist attack on our country.
There are times when the conversation about September 11, 2001, among friends or others when the inevitable question is asked, "Where were you on 9/11?"
I was in a high-rise condominium in the developing Kaka‘ako neighborhood with my family.
How about you?
Occupational necessity took me to the studios on KHVH Radio where my team and I were on the air for over 30 hours of broadcast. News updates, announcements, authority directives, but primarily the taking of telephone calls from listeners around the state. It was an accurate reflection of the national sentiment ranging from shock to incredulity to grieving to anger and even fear. As the day turned night and night turned into another day, the prominent expressions were, "Are we next?" to "We need to find and bomb those bastards!" with a few things in between.
But the prevailing question filled with so much emotion was, "How could this happen?"
This is what we know that happened.
The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks carried out by the militant group al-Qaeda in the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
The Attacks
- World Trade Center: Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two planes (American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175) were flown into the Twin Towers (North and South Towers) of the World Trade Center in New York City. Both towers eventually collapsed.
- The Pentagon: A third plane (American Airlines Flight 77) struck the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., in Arlington, Virginia.
- Shanksville, Pennsylvania: Passengers and crew on a fourth plane (United Airlines Flight 93) fought back, causing the aircraft to crash in a field before reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C.
Casualties and Impact
- Loss of Life: A total of 2,977 victims died in the attacks, including 343 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers in New York City, and 55 military personnel at the Pentagon.
- Global Response: The attacks led to the creation of the 9/11 Commission, the launch of the War on Terror, and sweeping changes to U.S. national security, aviation security, and intelligence-gathering laws.
The United States and the entire world changed on that day. The War on Iraq, the global war on terrorism, the authorization of unilateral military action, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, The Patriot Act and so much more changed the tone, tenor, and activities of the federal government and the U.S. military, at home and abroad.
There are debates and discussions, legal actions and court decisions and other contributions to the divisiveness in America today when polar opposites have strident yet non-negotiable positions. There are those who firmly and absolutely believe at 9/11 was an inside job. That our own government orchestrated the entire 9/11 attacks using patsies from the Middle East to conflate fear amongst Americans for their own agenda. Even the release of the 9/11 Commission investigative findings generated more questions than answers further cementing the divide among citizens.
Again, that is not for contemplation nor consideration today.
America was attacked.
Thousands of innocents lost their lives leaving behind grieving families whose own lives came to an abrupt and tragic end. The children of victims who lost their loved one, never experiencing them in their lives as they grew into adults.
The hundreds of first responders who lived their oaths to protect lives even if it meant losing their own. And they did.
The thousands who dedicated themselves to the clean-up and restoration of New York City to their own detriment, contracting lifelong debilitating health issues, even leading some to their own deaths.
Finally, my focus on this 25th Anniversary of 9/11 includes the remembrances of those from and connected to Hawai‘i and their respective loved ones who are poised to relive those tragic moments and renew the inevitable grieving connected to such profound loss. As Hawai‘i News Now reported at the time of the 10th anniversary, they are:
Punahou graduate Rich Lee filled his office on the 103rd floor of the World Trade Center with pictures of his son, Zachary.
Lee worked with 38-year-old Michael Collins, a manager at the brokerage firm, Cantor Fitzgerald. Collins was married to Leilehua High School graduate, Lissa Collins.
Four floors above them, at the "Windows on the World" restaurant, Punahou alum and rising culinary star, Heather Ho, was busy baking her special desserts. She'd always dreamed of working at the acclaimed eatery.
Sitting at a table not far away, 26-year-old Maile Hale. She had a morning meeting at the restaurant. A kukui nut tree grows in her memory at the valedictorian's alma mater, Kaiser high.
Richard Keane was also at a meeting at the twin towers. The senior vice-president of "Marsh incorporated" had a sister, Charlotte, who used to work at Kuakini Medical Center. She's since moved away.
Also at the World Trade Center, 1979 "Our Redeemer Lutheran" graduate, Patricia Colodner an executive secretary on the 96th floor of the north tower. She moved from Hawaii to New York soon after graduation.
At the Pentagon, David Laychak was a civilian budget analyst. Laychak's wife, Laurie a graduate of Hawaii Baptist Academy was teaching when a note about the attack was delivered to her classroom.
On United Airlines Flight 53, which plunged into a field in Shanksville, PA, 56-year-old grandmother and antiques dealer, Georgine Corrigan, of Hawai‘i Kai.
Peace to all who have suffered such tremendous loss.
A full generation of Americans and more were not yet born on 9/11/2001.
We are responsible to educate and inform our children, and they are responsible to educate and inform their children about 9/11. It is the very least we can do because the adage, "If you don't know history, you're doomed to repeat it", certainly applies here.
"Never forget."
Rick Hamada can be reached at rickhamada@aol.com.
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