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heard a roar. The sound startled me. I walked out to the parking lot of the hotel and looked across the way and saw black smoke billowing from a corner of the Pentagon. Shortly thereafter, there was an exodus of terrified-looking people from the Pentagon into Crystal City. After this panic, D.C. was locked down. (D.C. was so eerily still, so dead, that I have imagined we would have to go back to our nation’s founders and their horse-drawn carriages to find a time the city was so silent and unmoving). …

heard a roar. The sound startled me. I walked out to the parking lot of the hotel and looked across the way and saw black smoke billowing from a corner of the Pentagon. Shortly thereafter, there was an exodus of terrified-looking people from the Pentagon into Crystal City. After this panic, D.C. was locked down. (D.C. was so eerily still, so dead, that I have imagined we would have to go back to our nation’s founders and their horse-drawn carriages to find a time the city was so silent and unmoving). …

9/11 is indelibly imprinted in my memory both because of the evil that is reflected in such an act - and the more than 3,000 American lives tragically lost and because of the powerful sense of patriotism and unity that can exist in our great country when we stand together.

9/11 is indelibly imprinted in my memory both because of the evil that is reflected in such an act and the more than 3,000 American lives tragically lost and because of the powerful sense of patriotism and unity that can exist in our great country when we stand together.

   

   

On this day, and on [[Veterans Day]] and [[Memorial Day]], I say a simple [[prayer]] in gratitude for those who have suffered and died on our behalf – and remind myself to strive to be worthy of their sacrifice. I include in my prayer the hope that we may find a way — without a tragedy — to be as united as we were then.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/columnists/2020/09/11/royal-alexander-looking-back-9-11/5768474002/|title=A reflecdtion on 9-11|publisher=''The Shreveport Times'' Letter to the Editor|author=Royal Alexander|accessdate=September 11, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

On this day, and on [[Veterans Day]] and [[Memorial Day]], I say a simple [[prayer]] in gratitude for those who have suffered and died on our behalf – and remind myself to strive to be worthy of their sacrifice. I include in my prayer the hope that we may find a way — without a tragedy — to be as united as we were then.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/opinion/columnists/2020/09/11/royal-alexander-looking-back-9-11/5768474002/|title=A reflecdtion on 9-11|publisher=''The Shreveport Times'' Letter to the Editor|author=Royal Alexander|accessdate=September 11, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>