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Some dates shape our past, present, and future...and, yes, we must remember them all.

Richard
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No Exit
by Paul Greenberg

Strange the bits of conversation you'll overhear in passing. Especially as you grow older and hearing begins to fade. This one came from a lady talking about a book she'd read about the war in Iraq. She liked it an awful lot. Stayed up reading it till the early hours of the morning. Then I thought I heard her say, "Seventeen lost in one day. It was the worst loss in American history."

http://townhall.com/columnists/PaulG.../09/10/no_exit

I live across the Raritan Bay from Manhatten. I had just retired, for the first time, a few months earlier. The second plane flew over my house enroute to the towers. We stood on the shore and watched them collaspe.....some things you just don't forget.

Mac
"What you think we aren't.....we are!" Confederate Bushwhacker 1863

Great article Richard!

Thanks.

RF 1

Never forget...never forgive.

Find read Richard,.............

Quote:

Originally Posted by Razor (Post 224494)

Never forget...never forgive.

Agree Sir!

Holly

Once again the lights in NY will shine into the heavens as if searching for all those who were brutally murdered 7 years ago today. RIP my brothers and sisters.

Never forget.

Here's a piece we should all read to keep this issue in perspective.

Seven years later, hundreds of billions of dollars have been expended; over 4,000 Americans have been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan; and America’s preexisting cultural wounds have had their thin scabs torn off by acrimony over warring abroad and security at home. And yet herein lies the greatest paradox of all that followed from September 11. If no one on September 12, 2001 thought it possible that the United States would not be hit again by a terrorist attack of similar magnitude, here we are still free from a major terrorist assault over 2,500 days later.

The Other 9/11 Story:
What has and hasn't happened in the seven years since September 11, 2001.
Victor Davis Hanson

http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson091108.html

Richard's $.02 :munchin

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard (Post 224750)

Richard,

Interesting read, makes you realize we were right on A-stan & Iraq's...:D

GB TFS :munchin

Green Berets, FDNY honor fallen hero

http://sinepari.soc.mil/News/2008/Se...080916-03.html

Quote:

Green Berets, FDNY honor fallen hero
Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer K. Yancey
Army Public Affairs

NEW YORK (Sine Pari, Sept. 16, 2008) – Many can remember exactly where they were as the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 unfolded. In the years that followed, they’ve searched for ways to retain the memories and legacies of their loved ones.

But when you come from a family whose rich military background spans nearly a century, the choice seemed very clear.

Fire Marshal Ronald Paul Bucca lived a life of dedicated service. A warrant officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, he served as a member of the elite Special Forces. In 2008, Staff Sgt. Ronald Bucca Jr., too, proudly wears a green beret, and returned to the very site where his father made the ultimate sacrifice seven years ago.

Flanked by fellow Green Berets, relatives and firefighters, Bucca made the long walk to “the Pit” at Ground Zero, to pay tribute to his father. What awaited them there stood a small reflecting pool, laden with roses from fellow mourners who, like Bucca, waited to hear the names of their loved ones.

At St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, many of New York’s Bravest gathered to honor their fallen brothers. Again names are read – one by one – including Ronald Jr., who needed only to hear one name – his father’s.

Bucca enlisted in the Army as a National Guardsman in 2003. His uncle, Al Bucca, swore in the Queens, N.Y., native at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.

His uncle said “Ronnie’s” decision to enlist was only natural. “It’s in his blood,” the elder Bucca said.

Theirs is a family all-too familiar with service and sacrifice.

“I had a grandfather who was in the Coast Guard in World War II,” Al said.

Another grandfather and uncle served in the Navy – the uncle having served on a destroyer that helped clear Tokyo Harbor. Another uncle, a Marine, fought at Iwo Jima, and a great uncle also served as a Green Beret. Cousins, too, presently serve in the Army and Air Force. The elder Bucca is a retired Army major.

“(Brendan) found out a friend’s son was going through the (Special Forces Qualification) course,” said his wife, Margaret. “It turned out to be Ron Jr.”

The day before graduation, the Soldiers were able to don their green berets; Bucca’s beret held a more personal significance because it once belonged to his father.

Margaret O’Connor said of her husband, “he got pretty misty-eyed.”

About 20 members of Ronnie Sr.’s firehouse traveled from New York to North Carolina for the graduation.

“It’s very poignant,” said O’Connor. “Establishing a relationship with his son means so much.”

With every passing year, every memorial, every reflection, there lies the hope of finding some comfort, a sense of closure. On the day commemorating the worst attacks on U.S. soil, Al Bucca dressed in a shirt bearing a small but notable tribute to his brother:

Fire Marshal FDNY
In Honor
Ronald P. Bucca Sr.
WO1 U.S. Army Reserve
“What it is, is”

Said Al, “You think you’re over it, but it doesn’t get any easier.”

--sine pari--

Staff Sgt. Ronald Bucca Jr. and his uncle, R.J. Bucca, NYPD community policing officer, stand solemn as they wait to hear Ronald Paul Bucca's name read during a tribute to the fallen at Ground Zero, Sept. 11. (Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer K. Yancey, Army Public Affairs)

Master Sgt. Brendan O'Connor, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C., writes a note at the memorial pool at "ground zero," the site formerly occupied by World Trade Center 1 and 2 in New York. O'Connor, the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's 2nd highest award for valor, was a guest of the Fire Department of New York as he was in New York supporting the family of Ronald Bucca Sr. Bucca, a Special Forces Warrant Officer in the Army Reserves, and a New York City Fire Inspector on 9-11, died while attempting to rescue survivors of the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings. O'Connor and Bucca served together in the 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne). (Photo by Capt. Christopher Augustine, USASFC PAO)

Rest in peace Ronald Paul Bucca - Not forgotten... :( :mad:

> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4OeYvOdL8o

May we never forget. I cannot believe it's been 9 years...seems like yesterday to me.

Rest in Peace Sean Hanley, NYPD.

Rest in Peace Robert Talhami, Cantor Fitzgerald