Recollections and Thoughts on the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11

by: 

William Korach

Immediate Past President

St. Augustine Council

Voted Outstanding Council 2010

Navy League of the United States

I remember exactly where I was on the day America was attacked. I planned to depart Boston for Seattle on 9/11/2001 on an American Airlines flight. I was engaged by KPMG Consulting to lead a team and assist Boeing Electronics on a planning project and expected to be in Seattle for a period of about 9 months, returning home to Salem, MA on weekends. However, Boeing wanted us there a day earlier so we departed on September 10^th.

I was tired from the long trip and went to bed early. I was awakened on 9/11by a call from my son in school in Los Angeles at 6:00 am Pacific time telling me that a plane had hit the Trade Towers. I was so tired I went back to sleep. He called 15 minutes later about the second plane. Then I was wide-awake with the realization that America had been attacked and probably by Muslim terrorists.  I joined my team in the lobby where we l watched the news and heard the confusion. Later we learned about another plane striking the Pentagon, and another about a plane crashing in Pennsylvania.

We watched the Trade Towers collapse-the building, and you could not believe how big they were. I had lived in NY, took my kids to the top for the view, dined there, attended meetings there, planned the 1986 Fleet week there and remember so many great times. I even have a plaque from the old Brooklyn Navy Yard with bronze relief of the Trade Towers.

Then my wife called with the news that my sister in law, Captain Ann Stencil, United States Navy, was in the Pentagon when it was attacked, she had stepped away from her desk-and that saved her life. But her entire staff was killed.

I learned that 28 fellow members of my club, the New York Athletic Club, were killed in the towers. Guys I knew from the squash court, toasted each other in the tap room-gone. The club, founded in 1868 had been a driving force behind the modern Olympic games. The NYAC hold more Gold and Silver medals that any club in America. What had these men and women done to deserve murder at the hands of Muslim fanatics? A neighbor who had been in the Trade Towers after the first truck bomb attack planned by the blind Imam was killed in the second attack.

I learned all of these things while in Seattle 3000 miles from home. My oldest son William was living near Philadelphia, my younger son Reed was in LA, my wife, Francesca in Boston. I felt helpless, I was no longer in the Navy Reserve, I wanted to protect my family, suit up and strike back, as I had done during Desert Storm But there I was stuck in Seattle, and unable to get home for weeks. My coworkers and I did go to the nearest church praying for America, the families of those killed and the coming justice that was coming to those who dared commit the 9/11 atrocity.

In the days after the attacked, I heard about flight 93, I heard there was a man named Todd Beamer who was on that flight, and somehow resolved to fight back. He said “ let’s roll” then no more communications. He lost his life stopping that wicked plan, and was the first American to hit back after that vicious attack against America and humanity. I felt that he had stuck the blow I could not-I felt he did it for me. I was so grateful for the chance to say thank you personally to David Beamer for his son’s heroism. I am very proud of David Beamer for having the guts to speak out against the Obama administration for being afraid to speak the name of America’s mortal enemy “Radical Islam.”

Like David Beamer, I have been angered and saddened that the Obama administration fails to properly recognize the enemy and has caused so much division among the American people when there was once such powerful unity.

The scope of the attack, and slaughter was breathtaking, but from my experience as a former Naval Officer familiar with the acts of radical Islam, not surprising. The viciousness, cruelty, and total contempt for human life by these people has a long history, and a history of hatred for America because of who we are: a Christian nation of people who love liberty. And who are they? And what have they done? Here is a very brief summary of 19 major attacks against Americans by Islamic terrorist

1979 Iran Hostage Crisis: seizure of US Tehran Embassy, Iran (Nov 4, 1979 for 444 days)
1983 Bombing of US Beirut Embassy, Lebanon (April 18, 1983)


1983 Bombing of US Marine barracks, Beirut, Lebanon (Oct 23, 1983)


1983 Bombing of US Kuwait Embassy (Dec 12, 1983)


1984 Bombing of US Beirut Embassy (again) (Sept 20, 1984)


1984 Kuwait Airlines Flight 221 hijacked to Tehran – American passengers murdered (Dec 3, 1984)


1985 Hijacking TWA Flight 847 hijacked to Beirut (June 14, 1985)
Murder of Navy Sailor and diver Robert Stethem

1985 Hijacking cruise ship Achille Lauro, wheelchair-bound American is thrown overboard & killed (Oct 7, 1985)


1986 Bombing Berlin disco frequented by US servicemen (April 5, 1986)


1988 Bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, 100′s murdered (Dec 21, 1988)


1993 First bombing World Trade Center, New York City, 7 Killed, 1,042 wounded (Feb 26, 1993)


1993 Foiled NY Landmarks plot by Omar Abdel Rahman to blow up the Holland and Lincoln tunnels
and other New York City landmarks
1993 Attempted Assassination of Pres. Bush Sr. during visit to Kuwait (April 14, 1993)


1993 Black Hawk Down: shot down US helicopters in Mogadishu, Somalia,
during Operation Restore Hope (Oct 3-4, 1993)


1994 Plot to assassinate President Clinton during visit to the Philippines


1995 Failed Project Bojinka by Ramzi Yousef to blow up a dozen US airliners over the Pacific (end in Jan 1995)


1995 Bombing US military headquarters, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Nov 13, 1995)
1996 Bombing Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia, housing U.S. foreign military personnel (Jun 25, 1996)
1998 Bombing U.S. Nairobi Embassy, Kenya, Africa (Aug 7, 1998)


1998 Bombing U.S. Dar es Salaam Embassy, Tanzania, Africa (Aug 7, 1998)


1999 Foiled LAX Millennium plot by Ahmed Ressam to bomb Los Angeles International Airport
(Ressam was arrested at US Canadian border)


2000 Failed USS The Sullivans bombing that was refueling in the port of Aden, Yemen. (Jan 3, 2000)


2000 Bombing USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, 17 U.S. Navy sailors murdered (Oct 12, 2000)
(The USS Cole was not engaged in any combat during this period)
2000 Bombing plaza across from US Manila Embassy (Dec 30, 2000)
2001 9/11 attacks: World Trade Center, Flight 93, Pentagon, 3000+ murdered (Sept 11, 2001)

I think it is fair to question the nature of a people and a religion that encourages this kind of behavior. And who are the strong voices for sanity among the Muslim world. Could it be Feisal Abdul Rauf-the Imam who wants to build the Ground Zero Mosque? Who blames America for the very attacks against her on 9/11? Or could it be CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) whose first concern is always the legal protection of and apology for Islamic radicalism

The 9/11 bi partisan Commission Executive Summary mentioned 18 times that the threat from terror attack was radical Islam and Islamic extremists

Yet today Obama and Holder refuse to say the name. After the Ft Hood massacre-not mention of radical Islam. It is said that this is a war of civilizations. The truth is that this is a war on civilization vs barbarism.

Why do they hate us?

Because we are a Christian country that values liberty and recognize that our liberty only comes from God.

Our God is a God who loves his children. Not a God of retribution who has to spread his word through violence alone.

Our founders and framers believed this, but sadly, secularists progressives have rewritten history books in school. Pulitzer Prize winning author of 1776 and John Adams said that the ignorance of our young people is a threat to America’s national security.

We must remember we are a Christian country because that is who we are-it is what makes us different from others.   Alan Jackson said it well in this video.  He speaks about patriotism and love and sings  "remember when I was young...faith, hope and love is what He gave us.  And the greatest is love."  He still does.

Please tell us where were you that hateful day in America and how it changed you.  The stories are important to remember to pass on to the next generation.  God bless you as we head towards the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Let us never forget.