Remembering somber times is not something that I like to do however 9/11 as it has become known is a day that I have not forgotten and probably will not forget for some time to come. Like many of my fellow Americans I can vividly remember where I was and how I learned about the tragedy that took place on the day the two towers fell.
I was a junior in college and at the time I was a “non-traditional” student because I had returned to college after a very long break so to speak. In 1991 I attended one semester of college at the University of South Dakota later that year I enlisted in the Army. For 8 years I took college classes and learned about leadership by studying and applying “lessons learned” from the real trenches known as military service.
In the year 2000 I left the Army to complete my college degree and earn a commission as an officer in the greatest leadership organization I have ever known – the Army.
When 9/11 occured my oldest daughter and I were getting ready for lunch, my wife was at work because she was supporting us while I attended college. I had one of the cable news channels on and as soon as it happened I called one of my friends who was an ROTC classmate of mine. His name is Ben and I was the first one to break the news to him.
I knew that many of the people that I had known and those that I led at that time would be preparing very soon to “go to war” I knew that this act of agression was one that would have 2nd and 3rd order effects on the lives of virtually everyong that I knew. All the remaining classes the rest of that day were cancelled and for days after that many people were still confused and in disbelief about what had happened.
I earned a commission in the Army as well as a degree in Criminal Justice in May of 2002. To this day we are still at war 10 years later. This conflict has been and continues to be the most unconventional experience of our life and times. It has been and is being fought on many fronts and has caused this nation to suffer a black eye on a global scale that has been slow to heal.
Right now at this point in time I am doing my best to honor those that gave all and left this life those 10 years ago. I pay tribute to them and to their loved ones who lost a national treasure that we will never get back.
We pulled together as a nation and as neighbors in the days and weeks that followed that tragedy and my hope and reflection is to get back to the devotion, dedication, care, and compassion that we all displayed as we began the path back from terror. Please do something today to demonstrate your ability to contribute in a positive and favorable manner in honor of those passed so that we could live on!
Mark Edward Brown
Here is a picture of me at Silver Dollar City, which is an amusement park with a family atmosphere in Branson, Missouri. I found it amusing that they had a candy store named after my family – “Brown”, is that cool or what? We visited the park with our Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin from Willard, Missouri. My Uncle is in the Army Reserve and has deployed more than I have so we get along really well and they are just good people to spend time with.
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