March 20 - 21 , 2008
10:16 A.M.
Was up till 8 A.M. Slept a couple hours, just got up.
When I realized in my reawakening mind that this was the actual 5th anniversary of the war, I got a feeling that was a little indescribable, about how much my life has changed because of it, it was a strange, I don’t know, kind of sock-in-the-gut feeling, how much the lives of so many people I know and knew had changed, and how I could at best only imagine how much the lives of so, so many more I didn’t know had changed….I remember all the chatter at the place I worked when 9-11 happened…Propaganda Films…people talking about how the world wasn’t quite ever going to be the same again…and me more just thinking about how many people might end up dead in those buildings, but my mind not really “getting” what people meant when they talked about America never being the same again, like I almost thought they were reading too much into it, exaggerating…everything was too big for my mind to wrap around, I guess…and looking not all back at all now, but still living how drastically my America has changed, how much still is left to change as I sit on the precipice of going to Afghanistan, maybe Mosul….the Marines and families I correspond with every day…how to me, what is “news”, is a daily reality, and how much more so for others it is…I remember the streets driving home on 9-11, the silence on the flooded Los Angeles streets, the feeling of family amongst us all those days, we were a group then, a clan, a united body….I remember how much “race” was a topic on the t.v. news, and how all of that sort of disappeared as the commonality of being Americans who all faced standing in the same crosshairs and who were suddenly brothers and sisters….family…in a way I had never seen in my lifetime….yes….everthing changed….everything became more demanding….difficult….fighting for life, not merely enyoying it’s low-hanging fruit….
11:52 A.M.
‘Bout damn time!
3:32 P.M.
I’m not a tinfoil hat guy, a UFO guy, any of that shit really, but I am very much an instinct-following/somewhat psychic guy. And that’s just come not from any belief or attempt at it, there’s just been a sufficient amount of instances in my life where I’ve been able to call things about to happen, sometimes within days/weeks, sometimes within minutes. You’ll see some of that on tape. So it’s an empirical evidence thing. Based on not an assload, but a fairly long laundry list of quite specific intuitive “predictions”, I pay probably atypically close attention to my guts and instincts. Sometimes I feel things brewing in me vaguely for a period of time, and then details will begin to crystalize and whatever’s been somewhat haunting me becomes clearer and ultimately manifested.
So anyway, for no good reason, starting last week, I have been seized with an obsession to acquire a variety of firearms and ammo, and have been doing so. I feel a little bit like something’s brewing in my gut, like info is gnawing at the edges of my consciousness. ( Celebrity detective/protective services maven Gavin DeBecker has addressed some of this in his book “The Gift of Fear” ) And a friend of mine, who I hadn’t even spoken to in awhile and was not really a gun person, just told me last night he’d just joined the NRA. Something’s in the air….and I’m starting to think it’s not just November…
4:10 P.M.
So Bash just told me that little green lights means my retina’s redetaching….may just take an easy fix of keeping my head down again, whatever, I fuckin’ surrender, I’ve also got the MRI next week and the eye doc on Tuesday. By the way, when I write about shit like this it isn’t feel sorry for me sympathy, it’s just letting everyone know what’s going on, and not being reverse-phony of “Everthing’s just great”. That reminds me of false humility which chaps my ass as much as braggadocio.
Weird thing is, my ex-secretary ( and more ) and I, who I wrote about here ( just scroll down to the 7:54 PM entry, it’s in Deep Thoughts) have been emailing each other quite a bit over the last two days, and are going to get together to go shooting. Just as I was earlier explaining her unusual appeal in terms of her X-Box obsessesion and all that other shit that made her so cool, today she looks at a list of pictures of my guns and writes “Glock 21, please”. I couldn’t fucking believe it. She’s is in no way a gun expert and immediately picks out my favorite weapon, ( and which was recommended to me by a Special Forces guy ) of which I have two in two different states (and plan to get three more of in the 21C, since the refire is supposedly much more accurate given the lessened kick). Anyway, that ’s not even the point. In her email she writes this:
“there are definately things that happen, or places that i’ll be, and i’ll think of some stupid crap we laughed about, or some random funny story of something stupid we did. it’s just sorta weird because everything was all messed up with the insanity after Iraq, and we haven’t talked since then. well - like you said, maybe not worth writing about… maybe talking about. or…. something….
SO
anyway, i’m very glad that you’re doing well. and i would love to see your dumb ass.
let me know when you have time. i like how you asked me if i’ve ever shot. um… let’s think about that question, shall we? the answer to that would be YES. and then DUH - because the second or third time i went was actually WITH you, freak-o.”
I have absolutely no recollection of ever having gone shooting with her. Our time together was only about a 90-day pre-Iraq whirlwind where we were joined at the hip in and out of the office. And in LA, going to an indoor range with a 21 year old hottie is just not something anyone is going to forget. Memory loss like that, and I’ve had a few more things brought up to me here and there by others about things I did stone cold sober and can’t remember…have got me genuinely concerned about the TBI issue. At the end of the day, none of it matters. I’ll take it all and more and I’m going back. All worth it, no regrets, and a burning desire to get back in the game….for all the right reasons….
March 21, 2008
11:12 A.M.
Everyone else is playing at the river. I’d be playing at the river. If it were more important. Pay is more important sometimes, just not today…I lent my buddy my laptop bag….because his M4 fit perfectly in it…
2:02 P.M.
It’s way too early in China.
2:13 P.M.
I had no fuckin idea Easter was Sunday. Not saying its the reason why, but the media wasn’t exactly saturated with any tip-offs to the fact…
3:39 P.M.
Editorial from UC Berkeley’s Student Paper today:
For many of the protest groups recently active on and around campus, it’s time to see the writing on the wall. The chances for these demonstrations to succeed are slim, to say the least. The UC regents will not budge on the BP deal. The new athletic center will be built. And the Marines are not retreating from Berkeley.
In response to the Marine protest, Move America Forward, a conservative activist group, ran television ads lambasting Berkeley by name. Is this what Mayor Bates and Code Pink wanted? Probably not, but their stubbornness have cast shame upon themselves and, by extension, our city and university.
Yet another protest erupted when “Fresh” climbed into the tree across from Dwinelle Hall. Most people probably didn’t even know why he was up there. His presence required constant police supervision, drawing resources away from the city and university.
Which brings us to the Memorial Stadium tree-sitters. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that $367,000 has been spent by UC Berkeley to protect the protesters with fences and guards. That’s the equivalent of more than three full rides to Berkeley. And this report came out three months ago-it’s anybody’s guess what that figure is now. Is that progressivism in action?
UC Berkeley has a rich history of free speech and of broaching controversial ideas. That shouldn’t change, and will not change after these protesters cease their activities. But these demonstrations bring little but ridicule to our community. Where we were once a city of tolerance and progressivism, we are now a city of tree-sitters and obnoxious Marine-bashers.
Lambasting Berkeley’s Marines is offensive, considering their selfless service. And draining valuable funds to protect tree-sitters is harmful to all of us. Cal’s “progressive” community needs to organize their demonstrations in a more respectful and organized manner, so that Berkeley’s free speech legacy lives on in a way that benefits, not harms, its intended audience.
4:39 P.M.
Why is Easter so early this year?
4:43 P.M.
6:31 P.M.
Note to readers: Starting next week, the number of “Latest Videos” posted on the front page will double from 6 to 12.
6:39 P.M.
Fuckin’ liars…
6:48 P.M.
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
If you can't handle using your real email address, don't bother posting a comment.
Pat
Thats the one thing ill never forget among others is the feeling of the whole country being one big family if only for a brief time after 9/11. Race seemed to be the last thing on anyones mind. for a while people seemed more polite to each other and alot more friendly. Even those on opposite sides of the aisle in politics. you would see them on the news united and all of us were staring in the same direction, right at those who did this to us. The ones who killed all of our brothers and sisters in New York, Washington and from assorted places on that plane over PA.
Its a damn shame we couldnt have stayed united like that. Instead of fighting each other at home we could have focused more on fighting those who seek to destroy us
March 20th, 2008 at 10:35 amIts a damn shame we couldnt have stayed united like that. Instead of fighting each other at home we could have focused more on fighting those who seek to destroy us
——————————
I can’t understand or seem to find where the disconnect came from. I remember the when the American flag was a hot commodity. Most everyone had one and displayed it with honor. Its almost as if when the flags started to fade and tear as time passed, the feeling of brother and sisterhood was thrown in the trash with the pride of our flag, and not replaced.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:04 amoil below 100 dollars. wow thats newsworthy. one day last week it was 1t almost 111 a barrel but thank god it closed lower
March 20th, 2008 at 11:48 amBoy, I’m now 22, and how the world has changed in my short lifetime. Reagan and the first President Bush conquering the Soviet Union by the time I was 5. The First Gulf War. Somalia, the Balkans (where I believe we fought the wrong enemy, not the fault of our troops). I first started getting interested in being in the military in Second Grade, when I saw “Top Gun;” heh I wanted to be a Navy fighter pilot, then Navy Seal, and by the time of the GWOT, a Marine. It was around this time that I started seeing the Democrats as anti-military. Bill Clinton I saw as a pathological liar, and still remember the Lewinsky scandal like it was yesterday. But when the USS Cole was attacked, I was 14, and wondered why the response was so weak. Then the Election of 2000, from which point on I forever regarded Democrats with distrust. I was in English class when I learned of the terrorist attack of September 11th–for the rest of that week, my classes were glued to the televisions in our classroom, and we students to our newly-issued iBooks (the reliability issues of those pieces of shit are why I use WinPCs). Just after my 17th birthday, we kicked of OIF, and I was so proud of our troops and our President for ousting the dangerous dictator.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive the anti-war (anti-military) elements for trying to sabotage our war effort on all fronts. Where I will serve when I get my commission, I can’t say, but I only hope to be the best leader I can, and fight the enemy to the best of my ability.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:38 pmThey deserve what they are getting, and must be defeated.
YOU and my older daughters are the hope of my generation … That sanity and reason will win out over “nuance” and “feelings” …
March 20th, 2008 at 12:41 pmOh yes, I DO remember this date.
Around me the whole country went crazy. Nearly every one had CNN on. People were scared of Sadam fighting back with nuclear weapons.
I was in the hospital with my dad. He was taken there 3 days prior with a double phneumonia and on the edge of dying. The doctors had no medication left anymore, tried everything already.
While almost the whole Netherlands spoke hell and damnation about the United States entering Iraq, I aproved to give my dad his last chance; experimental American drugs. He survived.
It’s terrifying how fast people forget. It’s shocking how easy people can be deceived by lies from the MSM.
March 20th, 2008 at 12:42 pmhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339589,00.html
March 20th, 2008 at 12:57 pmThe splits started to show in the run-up to the Iraq invasion because a lot of people felt it was being hyped and reflected the Bush administration’s agenda more than clear-cut factual intelligence. I myself didn’t think going into Iraq was necessary at that time - as long as the inspectors were in there Iraq shouldn’t have been able to do much construction of WMD and wouldn’t tie down half of our army. I also wasn’t convinced that we could turn Iraq into a functioning democracy after an invasion. The more I learn about Islam, the more I question whether it can happen, even now. Many problems really have no satisfactory answers, but all of our choices have opportunity costs.
March 20th, 2008 at 1:07 pmYou’re right …
I love FNC’s Meghan Kelly to pieces … but she does grate at the proverbial “raw nerve” after a bit of that overly-spunky, loud yammering …
BTW, anybody know what happened to John Gibson’s 5:00 show? Why have he and Heather been replaced by Bill and Meghan?
March 20th, 2008 at 2:01 pmVideo of Army doctors removing a live RPG from a soldier at a FST in Afghanistan.
http://www.militarytimes.com/multimedia/video/rpg_surgery/
March 20th, 2008 at 2:07 pmdrill
It was replaced by a “politically themed” show indefinitely. guess they sacrificed Gibson for more political reporting. like we dont get enough of that as it is. Just when Heather finally gets back on the big story
March 20th, 2008 at 2:08 pmKurt -
Maybe after the Pa. vote they’ll return it? I really like John Gibson too … damn!
March 20th, 2008 at 2:12 pmdrill
The big story is a great show and Gibson is the man. It wasnt cancelled so it should be back pretty soon. hopefully after the PA elections
March 20th, 2008 at 2:52 pmKurt -
BTW … Things drying up down there for you guys today?
Last night’s snow melted throughout today … An icy cold wind replacing it.
I’m taking a nice long weekend trip to DC next weekend. I’m hearing the cherry blossoms will be bursting by then … and hopefully will feel more like spring too.
March 20th, 2008 at 2:56 pmDrill
Yeah its dried up quite a bit around here. still have a few rivers around we’re waiting to see what the crests will be like. The mighty Ohio is supposed to crest around 54 feet with a flood stage of 52 but that will effect the folks a little bit to the south of me.
Hey we have lilac bushes around here and they already have blossoms on them so you may be in luck for your DC trip.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:39 pmDrill:
Gibson went on a shooting spree in a Texas mall. Didn’t hit anybody, but shot twelve big macs under the heat lights at a McDonald’s, so they had to let him go.
As for Nauert,she’s the most beautiful woman working in TV news. I first found her on some 3 am college cable political talk show. I emailed her, and told her to stick with it, she was definitely going to be a star.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:43 pmPat
the ex secretary sounds perfect for ya man. thats what life is all about. even picked out the Glock 21, always wanted to shoot one of those.
send her this link pat. its what she can expect from it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y_K3lx_R_k&feature=related
March 20th, 2008 at 4:20 pmI’ve seen that video before … Absolutely amazing!
March 20th, 2008 at 4:50 pmHummmm
I wonder if Hillery is still willing to take Obama as a VP…
I wonder if Hillery will try to supply McCain info to smash Obama if he get the nomination….
If he gets it and wins (IF that is), She would have to wait 8 years and not 4 if McCain gets the win…
Oh and - on other sites I see a number of Democrats blaming Republicans for the Fall Of Obama. Idiots.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pmIt doesn’t surprise me that our country as a whole didn’t remain united after 9/11. Most people’s attention span doesn’t last very long even after life changing events. Just today, I was talking to people at work (still liberals) who thought that the government should force the oil companies to reduce the price of gas to $1.50 a gallon. They weren’t around for the gas lines of the ’70’s and price controls. It sucks to pay the price, but at least the stations still have fuel in the tanks to sell. Times back then, it was a bitch trying to find a station open to buy gas. I’m no economist, but it the free market will charge what the competition allows and the consumer will bear.
It’s unfortunate the ‘green’ people and others have pushed ethanol as the future. What bullshit. Look at the rising costs of other food grains this crap has started. Gallon of ethanol for the table instead of food stuffs? Makes Dad happy but the kids go hungry.
This country needs to say f–k the greenies and have a responsible policy for recovering hydrocarbons from “sacred ground” and where ever else feasible to do so, until alternate energy sources come on line - in our lifetime???
March 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pmOkay, Kurt, now it gets weird. Her name is Stephanie. Not kidding.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:14 pmSeptember 11th, 2001 is a day I will never, can never forget. I was still in the Army, stationed at Fort Carson in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. My MOS was 13F, Fire Support Sergeant or FISTER. I was an E-5 in charge of my own COLT team. We, and the rest of 1st Squadron, were sitting in the on base theater receiving our safety briefing for our upcoming participation in the Bright Star training exercise in Egypt. All you veterans know the type, watch out for camel spiders, scorpions, dust storms, crazy Egyptian drivers and all that shit. Keepin’ my soldiers awake and trying to stay awake mysef. For some reason though, they stopped the briefing. The Regimental commander took the Squadron Commander, CSM, XO, S-3, S-2 and all the troop commanders to the lobby of the theater all of a sudden. Then the Regimental Surgeon (I think) came back on stage and said the breifing would continue shortly and that they were going to put the news on for us to watch while we were waiting. Well, they lowered the screen and put the TV feed through the projector. Well, what I know now is Bloomberg TV came on and they were showing footage of a building on fire. Of course we all recognize it as the WTC just about the same time as the announcer states there was some type of accident where a small plane has struck one of the towers. So you know everybody’s like awe shit that sucks but doesn’t think that much of it. See, we weren’t at war. Nobody had picked up a red phone anywahere, no dictators had given a big speech saying they were going to attack us, nothing. It’s not that we were asleep on gaurd or anything, we just didn’t fucking know. Then, the second plane came in right there on tv bigger than shit. We could see its size, we saw the wings, the engines, the fuselage. And then the most heartbreaking thing happened that I have, or will ever be present for, even a part of. See, there was a whole squadron of us in that theater that morning. That’s over 1,000 of American’s best, brightest and bravest fighting men and women. People of honor and dignity. People who had sworn and trained to protect and defend. There was nothing we could do. Us FISTERS, Cav Scouts, Tankers, Gun Bunnies, Apache and Kiowa pilots, all of us had been trained to seek out the enemy and eliminate them at all costs - just do one thing PROTECT. Instead, we were stuck on the sidelines watching as if we’d fumbled the ball in the final two minutes and the other team just scored the winning TD. WHat the fuck!!! The second plane disapearred. For second we didn’t know if it had hit cause the camera angle was all wrong then there it was. That god damned fireball and then the sound. Not the sound of the explosion but the sound in that theater. I can’t really explain it I don’t know exactly what it was but we all did it at the same goddamn time all of Tiger Squadron. God damnit this isn’t how this shit is supposed to be. I till can’t handled replaying that moment FUCKFUCKFUCK I had a soldier from Queens. His brother worked in one of the towers the South I think luckily he was late to work that morning, missed his train. Why the FUCK won’t they just let us fight!? What the fuck is wrong with us killing those fuckers in Iraq and Astan instead of
Fuck, why don’t they just understand
March 20th, 2008 at 5:36 pmI was stop lossed for Iraq. Didn’t care though I mean shit what the fuck is FISTER gonna do in the real world anyway? Can’t really laze fuckin’ targets for a gaoddamn JDAM on mainstreet can ya. No copperheads or hellfires or any of that shit. We were supposed to be part of the initial assault, 3rd ACR that is then fuckin’ Turkey renegged. Fuckin Ottoman’s. There we are then, sitting in fuckin Kuwait, the most powerful, most heavily armed military unit in the damn world and we get to watch the push while eating damn sand filled cheeseburgers waiting in line to by smokes at the PX trailer. They cut off the cable feed the day that Saddam’s statue got yanked down by the recovery vehicle. Damn I would’ve given my left nut to be there. I mean they weren’t the Taliban or Osama but Saddam and his sons and the rest of those fucks had been fuckin with too many people for too long. The torture chambers all over Iraq, the shit they found in Kuwait after he hightailed it outta there. His sons and all the raping and shit they did. Then the fuckin Kurds and even the Shiites in Basra that got lined up and executed. THis was a bad dude and it was only going to get worse when he died. And here we were eating fuckin sand burgers when we were supposed to be getting our shot. Our shot at the same type of people that brought about 9-11. Not Arabs or Muslims, but these crazy sick fucks that do this kinda shit. I didn’t give life or limb, but I gave my marriage and almost my kids. ANytime someone talks to me about cutting our losses and just leaving I always ask them what then would be the purpose of the lives lost. Of Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker. Of the lives of my son and daughter when the next attack comes, they have to go off and fight and we find out that all we did is lay WW3 down in their laps while we rode off to Fiddler’s Green. For some reason, I never get an answer.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:56 pmPat, not to freak you out or nothing, but…… G21’s have been known to explodiate
Seriously…. it has happened, some feel that the design isn’t up to .45 ACP pressure, some have been shooting them for years with nothing happening. The way I had it explained was that Glock is good for 9mm up to .40 Cal at the most. But really it’s all hearsay, I have wanted one of the newer G21 SF models for awhile.
But the piece that I really would like….. Sig P220 Combat W/ extended barrel…… the one in Flat Dark Earth…. dead sexy
Man, I’d like a lot of new and different firearms, and I know what you mean about the feeling in the air, but it’s just not fiscally viable for me right now
shit blows….
About the Yugo AK’s, I did hear that they were drying up, which is a shame, they are nice, not because their pretty, but because of their extended trunion, enabling slightly heavier use then a regular stamped AK, if you have a problem with the internals then just replace ‘em! it is an AK after all.
March 20th, 2008 at 5:57 pmJesus!
Thanks for sharing. Over the years since 9-11 I have only heard personal (”where I was when I heard/saw”) accounts of that morning from civilians … never from someone in the military.
Let me ask you to add a chapter 2, of sorts …
I am assuming your service time had you through the 1990s … Did the USS Cole come to mind at some point during that day of 9-11? And how about all the other attacks on America during the 1990s … even the first WTC attack … and how the president during the 1990s did absolutely fucking NOTHING to show those who meant us harm and death that WE would not be fucked with?
And how did that make you feel? What were the conversations like/about following 9-11 between you and your comrades?
I’m NOT being a smart-ass, Erik … I am genuinely curious.
Maggie
March 20th, 2008 at 6:01 pmRegarding that gut feeling, my wife calls mine, ‘Steveisms’. They freak me out at times. Anyway, I have been making the ‘choosing a side’ and a ‘reality based life’ type of comments because it is not that far away. National? Global? not sure where the line is, but it does seem as though people are ignoring truth and reality for their own gain. I personally came to believe before 9/11 that evil was growing in the world. I may simply be nuts also.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:04 pmErik Marsh, thank you for your service to this nation.
Immediately after the second plane hit I went to the phone and called my wife at work, gave her detailed instructions on what to do if the nuke plant sirens went off ( I lived near Fermi II on Lake Erie )regarding our kids and where to meet west of the county. This was before the hit on the Pentagon. I was the paranoid guy at her work, for about an hour anyway. I do remember telling my boss early afternoon that the world is different now and is changed forever. We are facing evil and being passive will not bring peace.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:15 pmI’ll tell you what it’s called… It’s called being a MAN, and having the common sense and intuition to put your ear to the ground, sniff the air , read the runes and deduce that yep…. troubles a’brewin’…….
Ahhhh, I crack myself up some times
[ edit ] Man, I keep posting these left field comments right after someone post something important and heart felt, first Erik Marsh and now Steve in NC…..I’m sorry all and yes Erik, thank you for your service. [ edit ]
March 20th, 2008 at 6:21 pmPat, you gotta take care of your gourd. Getting blown up is for young men. It may be that you are spending the coin of your life on this, if so, you have cashed it on something greater than many civilians ever do.
now go see the medic
March 20th, 2008 at 6:32 pmThank YOU for caring.
I’d like to give you the sexy answer, you know the on, like in the movies…”Ya, it all fell together right then. Kinda like dominoes, I could see everything all the more clearly.” Well, it wasn’t like that. On one hand I was helping my soldier get in touch with his mom in Queens to check on his brother and that took a couple of hours (it really fucked him up when that plane crashed in Queens a short time later). On the other hand I was trying to get in touch with my wife to pick-up the kids and get back on base, it took her 6 hours that day due to all the shit going on. On another hand I had my ncos and soldiers out at our connexes makin’ sure we had good batteries for all or shit, that the radios worked right, that we had the right comsec, pluggers, melios, all that shit. On the other hand I had other soldiers and ncos doing arms room checks, makin sure all our nods were good, all the weapons passed functions checks making lists of what shit we needed. Then on the other hand I and all the other platoon sergeants were working with the first sergeant to prep our guys for force protection…rotations for gaurd duty at the post gates, training plan to ensure people remember how to search people and vehicles, setting up a roving gaurd for the section of the post boundaries we were responsible, etc. etc. etc.
And that didn’t even include all the shit we had to do to get ready for Bright Star and all the force protection shit we were gonna have to do there.
So I’m sorry but it wasn’t until later till the pieces started to fall together. But ya, there were some lively conversations that came along afterward and mostly we wondered why people didn’t pay attention and do something earlier. I still can’t understand that.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:39 pmIt’s good … no, GREAT to hear our military didn’t stand around with their proverbial thumb up their ass waiting for an “explanation” as to what the fuck was going on. You KNEW what the fuck was going on …
G-D!!! I DO love our military!
Hey, Code Pink … go eat an IED!
March 20th, 2008 at 6:45 pmAll we needed was to be provided with a chance. That’s it, a goddamn chance. Now we’ve got it and all those fucks want to do is pull the carpet out from under us.
Many people say a world at peace is a world without conflict. I disagree. A world without peace is a world without aggression. A world where a child does not have to be scared to walk into a pizza parlor, or hug their mom when they go to work. A world where I no longer have to remove my shoes to get on a plane or my grandfather no longer has to take off his belt to go into city hall. Where we don’t need to install radiation detectors at our ports.
How else do we get there from here if we do not eliminate the aggression?
March 20th, 2008 at 7:04 pmThere are a lot of new names out there today. Glad to see your site is getting a lot of traffic pat!
March 20th, 2008 at 7:05 pmMy brother in law was on a tiger cruise on the USS boxer on 9/11. His brother was a helo crew chief. Interesting morning he said.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:10 pmHowdy y’all! I frequently check out this site, but don’t usually post as I don’t ever have anything to add, but here is my 9-11 story.
I was a sapper serving in Germany as a spec 4 at the time. We were about to get off work when our SGM called a battalion formation. He told us the pentagon and New York had been attacked, and casualties were expected to be in the thousands. He was shaking with rage the whole time, and he told us we would soon be at war. Since a quarter of the base was open, us sappers spent the next two days continually putting up wire to close it off. I remember the Germans came out in large groups to put out flowers and wreaths at our front gates.
Shortly after I was sent to the 1st Cav were we were supposed to be part of the initial push into Iraq. Like with Eric, it didn’t happen thanks to Turkey. My initial contract was about to expire, so I figured “fuck it,” and decided to re-enlist for the 10th mountain. People thought I was crazy wanting to switch from mech to light infantry, but I really found a home in the 10th mountain. Unlike with mech, the infantry treated us sappers like a member of the family. I went to Afghanistan in 2003, and was on the north eastern border with Pakistan. We got hit frequently, but it was probably my best time in the military. I came home feeling pretty good about the experience.
Then I got stop lossed in 2005 for Iraq. I didn’t bitch and complain, because I am not a fucking idiot, and I knew it was a possibility. I worked route clearance when I was there, and found quite a few IEDs. Then an EFP found me. Took some shrapnel to the head, which messed me up for a while, so Pat, I sympathize with you about the TBI thing. All I can say for that, is over time, it does get better.
Now I am out, and trying to get my licensure in education, while resisting the urge to strangle some of my classmates.
So far, so good.
March 20th, 2008 at 7:51 pmand my beloved “grass-cutting” Erik … and Steve in NC’s “relations” …
All’s I can say is … thanks.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:04 pmPat
Damn brother, sounds like destiny to me. what are the odds of that coincidence. you better get on it
March 20th, 2008 at 8:10 pmThis babe is the “hot chocolate” Pat played “marshmallow” to …
X-Box …
Lingerie bonfires in his backyard when he’s not out there shooting his guns …
Gallons of Red Bull …
We are officially replacing the old fashioned saying, “Living the life of Riley” with “Living the life of Dollard” …
March 20th, 2008 at 8:19 pmDrill
Exactly. Xbox and shooting guns. all of that stuff. the perfect thing for a guy, if you can find a woman who likes you for the goofball you are then thats awesome. My girlfriend goes with me to shoot, still wont shoot my 12 gauge slug gun though lol. goes 4 wheeling with me sometimes, fishing. i wont take her deer hunting. women talk too much
March 20th, 2008 at 8:29 pmOn 9/11, I was walking down 2nd Ave with a buddy from work to get breakfast. A firetruck came roaring out of the Queens-Midtown tunnel and turned south so fast that the right side lifted off the pavement at least a foot.
I said it was probably a terrorist attack, because that was the only thing I could think of big enough to bring in companies from other boroughs. I am not, by nature, an optimistic man. I hate being right all the time.
I walked into the diner, saw everyone staring at the TV, to see the tower burning. When the second plane hit, I knew (I had strongly suspected terrorism the second I saw the video) that this was a terrorist strike, and that they were muslim terrorists, since it was obviously a suicide attack.
Almost everyone around be was in shock. They couldn’t believe what was happening. I was in a rage. I didn’t feel any disbelief or fear or horror. All I felt was cold fury and pure, clean hate.
People say hate is wrong. They are fools. Hate is good. It gives the strength to do what needs to be done, and the fortitude to endure what must be endured. Forgiving your enemies is condoning their actions. Forgiveness is something I’ve never asked for or given. Redemption is overrated. Nothing can change the past, and it’s a waste of time to try. Deal with it and move on.
I didn’t start screaming or throwing furniture like an animal. I was icily composed, for the most part. I think I paraphrased Halsey when I said, “The Arabic language will be spoken only in Hell.” Some dumbshit asked how I knew it was the arabs, and I said, “Who else? If it was one guy, well, everyone’s got their lone nuts. But the only place you’ll find enough maniacs to pull this off is the arabs.”
I remember saying something like, “First, we bomb Afghanistan flat, and move on from there.” I knew Bin Laden did it. I’d been paying attention to Islamic terrorism since high school. A terrorist attack didn’t surprise me. The scale and effectiveness is what caught me off guard.
Two things stick out about the reactions of those around me: First, most of the people were utterly incapable of dealing with the cold, hard reality that had smashed their comfortable world to pieces. They were paralyzed by shock and fear. I didn’t see any anger. They just had a dazed, “This isn’t happening” look. They were sheep.
Second, the staff. The wetback motherfuckers didn’t give a shit. They were pissed they were losing business. One of them tried to turn it off because nobody was ordering anything, as if we’d just forget and go back to normal. I said if he touched the TV I’d fucking kill him.
I meant it. The normal restraints on my temper were not functioning that day. I need reasons NOT to do horrible things. Deep down, I’m a very bad person. Certain things bring that out. Watching thousands of my countrymen die in seconds is one of them.
Me and my buddy, who was quiet for the first time since I met him, wound up going back to the office. I had called in to say I was getting the fuck out of dodge, and this piece of shit who wasn’t even a manager told me to go to the jobsite, which was next to the goddamn Empire State Building.
After I did a good impression of someone with Tourette’s, he said to come back to the office. We did, sat around while everyone trickled in because they wanted to account for everyone, then we left.
I took a train that had been sitting in mothballs for thirty years out of Grand Central. Once we went from the tunnels to the El I stood in the open doorway and looked south. I could see the cloud of smoke until we were well past the Tappan Zee Bridge. I did not sleep that night.
I started getting back into shape, intending to enlist. Then, I wrapped my Blazer around a tree, and that ended that idea. If I end up in combat, something went horribly wrong.
March 20th, 2008 at 8:43 pmCripes!
You all have more interesting lives than I do.
9-11-01 I was feeding my 18 month old Down Syndrome daughter breakfast before I was to take her to her Early Intervention class. Her two older sisters were in middle and high school for the day. The news on the kitchen counter 13″ TV cut to the first Tower that had been hit. At the time they were only speculating a fire on the upper floors and were looking for a reason … Then the report of a “small” plane hitting it trickled in … I remember thinking, “Damn! and it’s a beautiful day … How could a plane fly smack into the side of a building on such a clear day? The pilot must’ve had a stroke or heart attack …”
As I shoveled in the rest of Lizzie Rose’s scrambie eggies and diced peaches between her sips of milk from her training cup we watched and listened for answers as I surfed the channels to see who had the best updates … And then … here came a plane banking in from the side of the screen … tipped on its side … My hand went to my mouth as it seemed to glide almost effortlessly into the building tucked behind the first building that was in flames. Within a second there was a ball of fire and black smoke that errupted out from the corner of the hidden building.
Unlike ticticboom, it took seeing that second plane banking in to pull forward the direct idea/possibility it was terrorists.
I put Liz in the car and drove up the street (we actually could have walked/strollered it was so warm and sunny) to her school. They didn’t even know what was going on until I told them.
The rest of the morning unfolded with the Pentagon and Flt. 93 and the Towers collapsing … and those pictures of all the people in NYCity and DC …
I remember thinking, “This isn’t as easy as just hitting back at a ‘country’ … These people are nomadic … always moving and hiding wherever they can find another thug buddy to take them in.”
Oddly enough I also thought, “This didn’t just take a couple weeks to plan/pull-off … This was a long blue-printed plan sitting in wait.”
Of that I was right.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:10 pmOn 9/11 i was sitting in choir class in the 7th grade when I heard about the first attack. That was awhile ago. Probably one of the days I remember best.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:21 pmErik Marsh
Jesus!
Thanks for sharing. Over the years since 9-11 I have only heard personal (”where I was when I heard/saw”) accounts of that morning from civilians … never from someone in the military.
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Drill -
My husband is active duty, USMC, MOS ATC (Air Traffic Controller.) He would have to tell the story of his experience on 9/11. The only part I get right is the amount of time it took to get ON base that day. He said it was at least a 4 hour wait. Not to mention the days that followed.
I was in Chicago. I remember waking up, turning on the TV, going to make coffee. I was staying with my mom. My mom was very ill. She was still sleeping. I remember watching the news, drinking my coffee and then the break away to NY. I didn’t know what was going on. I got up and started doing things and just before the second plane hit, I stopped & looked again. I sat down. I just knew this wasn’t right. At first I thought there was some ATC problem. I couldn’t figure out why they kept hitting the building. I guess I just didn’t want to believe it we were under attack. Then the announcer said, we seem to be under attack. I got very cold. I couldn’t stop shaking. I walked into my mothers bedroom and told her she needed to see what was going on. She was mad too because I woke her up. She got over being mad fast.
March 20th, 2008 at 10:50 pmYou know things are bad when you pick up the phone and tell people to turn on the TV and you tell them to tune into any channel. I sat and watched the flames burn both buildings. NEVER for one second did I think it was enough to bring both buildings down. I felt so helpless when they did go down. My mom & I just sat together with tears running down our faces. We just couldn’t stop crying. We couldn’t stop the tears. To this day, when I talk about it, or I see pictures, I still cry.
My aunt called to tell my mom that my cousin was in NY that day. He had a business meeting latter that day he was supposed to attend, in one of the Towers. He was staying in a hotel not far away from it. Hes fine, he survived.
In the few weeks after the attack, I remember it seeming like forever for us to go into action and take out the pricks who did this. It just seemed like it took forever. It was like everything was in slow motion. I remember not laughing for a few weeks. I just couldn’t.
Hey Pat sitting here drinking a cold one thinking that I should be in bed, already put in 5+ plus days worth of work in 4 days (Lord I hate Tax season).
So have you added an M14 type to your collection. All this talk of AR’s and AK’s…you need to have yourself a good DMR rifle. The Springfield Armory offerings are nice. I have a SOCOM 16 (My room clearer) and a Loaded (reach out and touch someone at 600+). I am looking at an LRB forged M-25 receiver build for my next one.
On another note I am considering a DSA FAL in an 18″ barrel configuration.
I don’t know about your got feeling, but your not the only one that thinks something is brewing. But I sleep soundly at night, just God forbid my place ever catches fire. Also have a Para-Ord Warthog as my constant companion…10+1 of 45 ACP love baby.
Blue Skies Buddy
March 20th, 2008 at 11:42 pmPat,
I’m a Kimber 1911 Desert Warrior man myself, sorry just not into tactical tuppaware.
On that day I was strolling into my firehouse, no one was in the bays as was usually the case, so I threw my gear into my spot on Tower 16 and tried to find the guys. They where in the kitchen glued to the T.V. I saw the second plane hit and said “FDNY is gonna be hiring guys we just lost a lot of Brothers, Captain I’m going to be leaving soon I’m rejoining The Corps.” all he could say was “Crush some skulls and bring me some fucking heads on a stake.” He was an Old Corps Drill Instructor. I was on the phone with a friend of mine by noon and he was pulling strings by Thursday. The rest I don’t remember very well I suffered a major head injury in a training incident. I’m back at the same house now working with a few other Marines and believe me we will never forget and will never allow the new generations to forget. My Brother and his best friend made it to Iraq and back and are both going back soon. Pat keep up the good work. Someday if there has to be a new revolution I’ll see you on the front lines.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:53 pmTo add to my above comment, I swore an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution from enemies both foreign and DOMESTIC. I might be a little broken down and not as strong as the youthfull Marine of the past, but I can still kick the crap out of any pinko you throw my way!
Semper Fi,
March 21st, 2008 at 12:26 amBrandan
Boy, it really reminds you how we felt on that day (except for the fifth columnists).
Later on September 11th, I remember seeing on the news, Palestinians celebrating the attacks. There was no doubt in my mind that it Islamic terrorists (in my mind, it could’ve been some other terrorist or national group), upon seeing that. After that day, the favorite website for those in my high school was a mock Weather Channel forecast showing Afghanistan being nuked. Pretty much everybody adopted American-themed Mac icons displayed on the iBook’s desktops. A few weeks later, one of those scholastic magazines for students we had to subscribe to, with the main article being titled “Why Do They Hate Us?” I felt that it too apologetic to the fucking rag heads. Three weeks after the attacks, my World History class took a field trip (planned before the attacks) to the Smithsonian Museums. Needless to say, when our charter bus drove past the Pentagon, everyone was on that side of the bus, and totally silent when viewing the damage. The day of the attack, my dad came home late from his job at the largest heating oil company in Richmond, Woodfin (he’s the Operations Manager). He knew he couldn’t give blood (he got malaria in Vietnam), but he went to the Defense Supply Center, Richmond (DSCR) to see if there was anything he could do to help.
I am outraged beyond words that some in this country, feel “we got what we deserved.” I still feel dismay that it seems like that infamous day isn’t on most Americans’ minds each and every day.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:43 amA few weeks later, one of those scholastic magazines for students we had to subscribe to, with the main article being titled “Why Do They Hate Us?” I felt that it too apologetic to the fucking rag heads.
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Here’s an article title for the apologists:
“Ask NOT ‘Why Do They Hate Us?’ … Rather, Ask Why THEY Can’t Or Won’t Control Their Anger and Hate When Everyone Else Is Expected To”
March 21st, 2008 at 10:12 amBush Derangement Syndrome at fever pitch — just many American’s way of saying thank you for keeping us safe from another attack on our soil.
American media making the Rosenbergs look like US patriots.
Parents facing jail time for not being accredited teachers.
Accredited teachers sending their students out to protest the mans latest supposed affront where jail time gains bonus points.
Governors Gone Wild
Reverends Gone Insane
Politicians selling America to the highest vote bidder.
Ex politicians selling lifestyle maintaining carbon credits to guilt-ridden trust fund yuppies come of age.
Law enforcement instructed to look the other way by power-hungry council members awarding moonbats in pink and commie-wanna-be’s in black parking space perks to add convenience to anarchy.
Closed minds demanding open borders.
Half of American voters torn between dumb and dumber.
One Nation under God has been perverted into Two Americas.
Terrorists substituting plotting the West’s downfall with an endless loop of Time Is On Our Side.
Not a fatalist by any streatch but the list grows hourly while the clock ticks down. I don’t envy our children.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:38 pmEditorial from UC Berkeley’s Student Paper today:
ME: Umm … holy shit?? 
March 21st, 2008 at 4:11 pmFuckin’ liars…
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AMEN!
March 21st, 2008 at 6:15 pmOut of the frying pan and into the fire, eh, Kasey?
March 21st, 2008 at 6:18 pmI was at home sick and asleep when 9-11 happened. My daughter called me from school and woke me up and told me to turn on the t.v. NOW IT IS IMPORTANT she yelled and hung up! So I did. I watched the replay of the first hit and then the second. The first one, I thought horrible accident. The second hit, I knew it was intentional without a doubt and that our world would never be the same. There is no way it could be and many would pay.
People in the U.S. really did solidify after that for a time. The split came with the hate America first crowd. “We got what we deserved.” Most of those people are the same ones who suffer from Bush Derangement Syndrome and have always on some level lost or had no appreciation of America.
It has struck me every year that after the first 9-11 anniversary people around me day to day did not even acknowledge it at all. There was no reflextion or rememberance. I feel like a stranger here now more than ever before. I really need to move when I can. It is depressing to be surrounded by those who have intellectually sided with our enemies. Actually, it goes beyond that, it is frightening to me.
@ Pat, I think it is wise for everyone to be well armed for the future. Nothing wrong with being properly prepared for anything. I have a few things I will get once I save up enough cash. Then I will be going off to a range to practice. Guns have been a part of my family since the day I was born and were just as normal as anything else in the house. Your predictions of what will happen have always been spot on.
@ A. S. Wise- VA; Erik Marsh; Angry Sapper; Brandan; tictic, et al:
Thank you for sharing your memories of 9-11 and for being the men that you are. It is because of men like you, and others, that we are fully confident in our military and the actions that need to and should be taken. (In my day to day life there are far too few who get it.)
I do not always say a whole lot, I get so much from reading the posts here, I just wanted you all to know.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:11 pmWhere the hell are you??!!??
It’s SNOWING again!
I need a gun …
REDRUM
REDRUM
REDRUM
March 21st, 2008 at 7:38 pm@ drill & Kurt
I have been reading and watching how bad the flooding has been. NOW SNOW?!!!
We got hit with the snow in the Chicago area but no flooding like the midwest has endured.
I hope things get better for you all soon.
March 21st, 2008 at 7:48 pmCyber-smack me … HARD! … come summer if I DARE complain about the heat …
Maggie
March 21st, 2008 at 8:07 pmI love that name by the way. good job on sticking to that racist Obamalamadingdong.
Wow! snow again?? thats awful. oh get this, the weatherman said tonight that kids around here would probably be easter egg hunting in the snow on sunday. It was 60 here today. You gotta be tough to live in this area for sure. this weather is NUCKING FUTS!!
Thanks for the well wishes. flooding around here was bad for a few days and seemed to dry up alot today. very surprising though
March 21st, 2008 at 9:37 pm@drill & Kurt:
Maybe you should buy an amtrack. Check e-bay or ask the local surplus store if they know where you can find one.
March 21st, 2008 at 10:05 pmPlease, don’t include me in the list of “real men;”
I have yet to be in combat (much less, active duty military), nor have I made a family with a wife & soul mate. In my place, please put all the vets from World War II to the First Gulf War (i.e. my dad & all my grandparents, most uncles, and some cousins). I have yet to experience real adversity in my lifetime.
Should everything work out, I will be able to call myself a combat vet, by way of being a Marine infantry officer, in the near future.
I do appreciate the accolade!
March 21st, 2008 at 10:24 pm@ Maggie
You will not complain at all when all this is over.
@ A. S. Wise- VA
From all that I have read that you have posted at Dollard’s site over many months, I think you will fit into the list of those who have gone before and are serving now, in due time. They are never far off in my mind. The foundation that you have already will always be a part of who you are. Keep us posted on your future commission.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:26 amInsomnia’s a bitch, but I did finally get around to uploading some pics I took when I stopped by Times Square on the 19th. I was on the clock, so could only stay for a few minutes.
Me being me, I couldn’t help but get into it with a few of them. Apparently, the military is full of runaways. Strange, considering you can’t enlist without parental consent if you’re underage. Fucking idiots.
http://tick-tick-booom.spaces.live.com/photos/cns!81216ABC4B7EFC0!330/
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:44 am