What were you doing when the USA was attacked six years ago? What did you do in the first 24 hours afterwards? Did to go and try to help? Did you volunteer to donate blood, buy supplies to send to the rescue workers? Did you go to your church to simply offer a prayer to the victims? Did you go to the site of one of the attacks and help in some small way?
My story of that day I will remember for the rest of my life. I was at work at the Electronic Support Detachment in Portsmouth Virginia. I was an Electronic Technician 2nd class at the time in the US Coast Guard. I had been at that shop for 2 years as part of an experimental counter narcotics program the Coast Guard had been running using high speed 38ft Fountain race boats as long range interceptors for catching smugglers in their "go-fast" boats down south. The program was in the process of shutting down due to high costs and the three weeks prior to the attack we had started decommisioning the boats. Stripping all the electronics out, pulling engines and transfering people to other units.
I was taking a break from piles of paper work dealing with the electronics inventory for all 8 boats and getting ready to ship all that equipment to Baltimore for redistribution to the rest of the fleet. I was out back having a smoke and a cup of coffee with a couple of the guys when one of the guys from the electrical shop next door came out and told us a plane had hit tower 1. We all went back inside and turned the TV on in the shop. Within minutes we all saw live on TV the second plane hit.
Shortly after than our shop Chief called an all hands meeting. He informed us the base was on lockdown. He wanted 3 techs to go over to the small boat station and run underway checks on all their boats while the station crews geared out. He needed anouther tech to get over to the 5th District command center and ensure comms there were fully operational. I was getting ready to go over to the station to help out when my phone rang.
It was the CO of TACLET North. That is the unit that had operational control over the Deployable Pursuit Boats. He asked me if I had any electronic equipment from the boats on hand. I told him yes I did. It was all packed up, ready for shipping but I hadn't finished the paper work yet. That was my goal for the day when I got to work that morning. He told me to forget about shipping anything out, load up everything I had in the wharehouse and get my butt up to Yorktown just as fast as I could and get 3 boats operational just as soon as I could make it happen. I asked him to confirm the order with my Chief so I could get authorization to take the units cargo truck off the base since we were locked down. I transferred the call and 10 mintues later my Chief called me into his office.
I was ordered to take 1 tech with me and get up to Yorktown ASAP with everything I needed to support underway operations of 3 DPB's for at least 30 days.
I got to Yorktown at 1100 that morning with a trucload of supplies and equipment and a new 3rd class ET to help me out. We got a quick briefing from one of the officers at TACLET and went to work. They had 3 boats set aside that still had the engines installed and were test running them in the yard when we got there. The place was a mad house. 30 some odd people trying to work on 3 boats all at the same time. Putting gear away, working on trailer lights, loading out weapons, issueing personal gear. It was crazy.
By midnight we had the 3 boats put back together, fully loaded, tested and ready to role out. As I walked into the CO's office to make my report to him on the electronics status of the boats he asked me to sit down. He asked if I would be willing to volunteer to deploy to New York with the teams going up. I asked when we were leaving and he told me the unit would be leaving at 0700. I asked if I could use his phone and I called my wife to tell her to pack my deployment bag with every uniform I had and all the underwear and socks she could find.
I made it home around 0100 and helped her to finish packing my gear. As we went to bed it all hit me at once. Everything that had taken place during the day came rushing back at me and I realized I was going to a target in a few hours instead of just anouther American city. As I told my wife what I was thinking we both broke down and started crying. It was tough for us because our marrige had been on the rocks for awhile, we had just started going to councelling and things were getting better and here I was getting ripped out of our home for a deployment neither one of us expected and I was going into a dangerous situation.
I think I only got about 2 hours of sleep before the alarm went off at 0500 on the 12th. As I got dressed my wife got the kids up so I could say goodbye to them. It was hard walking out the door that morning.
When I got back up to Yorktown the guys had the boats hooked up to the trucks. The boarding teams were loading up in their vans and storing equipment in the cargo truck I was driving. Besides all the electronic gear I ended up with a spare engine and transimission, spare props, cases of oil and coolant, body armor, ammunition, survival gear, and weapons.
At 0730 on the 12th we rolled out of Yorktown and headed north up the eastern shore on highway 13.
We arrived on Staten Island that night and set up shop at the Coast Guard station there and started conducting port security opperations that ran 24 hours a day for the next 37 days.
I saw allot of things during my time in the service. I was part of Operation Desert Shield / Storm in 1991 while in the Army. I had the opertunity to travel all over the world.
September 11th 2001 I will ALWAYS remember as the day that all my military training and commitment to serve paid off. I played but a very small part in the efforts to protect and help my fellow Americans but nothing I had done before or since has made me more proud to wear my country's uniform.
I know this was long winded but everyone has their story to tell. If we don't then people forget and that would be wrong. That's what I did in the first 24 hours after the attack. Nothing I did makes me a hero. I didn't run into a burning building. I saved no lives. I captured no terrorists. I did make a differance though. I did what I could and that's all anybody can really ask for. I was there, I saw the destruction, and I prayed allot, then I went to work and did the job I was trained to do.
to everyone who did their jobs on that day and the days afterwards.
REMEMBER ALWAYS
