Monday, May 30, 2011
By Col. BRYAN SALAS
McClatchy-Tribune
On the day Osama bin Laden was dispatched, my Marine colleagues and I took a moment to walk down from our offices in the Pentagon to visit the 9/11 Memorial outside.
We nestled ourselves into a quiet corner of the memorial, far from the curious eyes of a tour group of students from the Midwest who happened to be visiting the Pentagon that day. News cameras began to appear and perch near the entrance looking for stories to put meaning to America’s day of reckoning with Osama bin Laden.
Several of my colleagues standing with me that day had actually been in the Pentagon for the 9/11 attack. With thoughtful expressions, they recounted that day’s events.
One Marine Corps officer working in the Pentagon watched TV from his desk on 9/11 that fateful morning with the rest of America. He sat in stunned disbelief. The phones rang off the hook as the press asked for comment and what the status of Marine forces was worldwide at that moment.
Then the unthinkable happened.
Explosive impact
Then-Capt. Stu Upton recalled hearing the rumble and explosive impact in the Pentagon on 9/11 and a friend unflappably shouted across the room, his watch set five-minutes fast: “Time on deck 9:42!”
Looking back from the grounds of the Pentagon’s 9/11 Memorial after receiving news of bin Laden’s death, we cast our eyes north to the horizon and the direction of the terrorist’s flight path on 9/11. Airplanes head in to land at Reagan National Airport using that same flight path to this day and they whooshed overhead as we spoke.
Ironically, at one point along this flight path up to the impact site at the Pentagon lays Arlington National Cemetery. Hallowed ground containing the final resting place of soldiers who fought in the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, World War I and II, Korean War,Vietnam, the Gulf War, and now those from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Along the flight path lays the grave of Marine Maj. Megan McClung, who was killed in Iraq fighting al-Qaida in their self-proclaimed capital of Ramadi. She was working with the local sheiks who after years of war in Iraq decided to band together and fight al-Qaida.
Striking back
Two of my Marines who survived the attack on the Pentagon were also among the first Marines to strike back at al-Qaida and their Taliban hosts in Afghanistan. These Marines were among the first to fight the Taliban in Kandahar in December 2001. Ironically, both of these Marines recently returned from second tours in Afghanistan nearly 10 years after that first deployment. Now lieutenant colonels, their kids who grew up under the specter of Islamic terrorism are now college ROTC students who, as it happens, are preparing for service in our armed forces. My own son, a high schooler on 9/11, returned last year after serving as an infantry platoon leader in Iraq.
With mixed emotions, we left the 9/11 Memorial.
On the one hand, we were all filled with satisfaction at seeing that the United States has been relentless in its pursuit of justice for Osama bin Laden. On the other hand, we were angry that the cost of freedom can sometimes equate to such a horrific personal price for some Americans like Megan McClung, her family and the other Americans who have served since 9/11.
Osama is gone but there are still plenty of men in the world like him who wish us ill and so each day we Marines must rededicate ourselves to ensuring our grandchildren can fully enjoy peace and prosperity.
Col. Bryan Salas is director of public affairs for the Marines Corps in the Pentagon. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.