Library of Congress Stories

My oldest son soon departed for Afghanistan for six months and received the bronze star for his performance in Operation Anaconda. The celebration and thankfulness of his return was soon muted by the understanding he would be headed to Iraq. He…

That day seriously damaged our national sense of security, of our innate feeling of invulnerability. They attacked us at the heart of our nation, and at the core of our government.

I think that we were being overly optimistic before, thinking we…

The world is different now. I can never see it the same again. I'll not ever feel that happy-go-lucky feeling I had before the attack. I hate the way that my country responded with bombs, but I do believe that time will judge our actions to be…

Recognizing that the world would never be the same. It's one thing to see it in a distant land, on TV, but it's "them" not "us". Now it's us. We may be headed into a very long and dark time in America.

all i want for christmass is world peace although it wont happen in my time i hate this holiday i have no money not even my sister the only relitive thats left i live in a rooming house with 11 other slobs hate to say it but its true most of them…

My since of security has certainly gone up. I constantly watch my surroundings and look for anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. Coming from a military and armed security background, I keep myself in that same frame of mind as if I am always…

There are so many strong memories from that day. It is impossible for me to choose which memory is the strongest, so I will simply write about my first strong memory of September 11. I was on vacation at the beach, standing alone on the shore. The…

My outlook on the United States of America has changed -It's no longer land of the free, rather land of the freeloaders!
America needs to close its borders and take care of its own people first before supporting the illegal Tom, Dick and Harry's that…

NO ORDINARY TUESDAY

For years to come we will play the game, Where were you when . . .

Where were you when the planes hit?

written on it. All the details of that day. You pull Its strange what you remember. The tragic events of that day have…

I think that the country as a whole has come together in a way that is difficult to even put into words. In the short year that i have been in the military, I have had people just come up to me on the streets when i was in uniform and just say thank…

I shifted my weight in the chair. My hands fumbled with the pencil, my eyes, glancing over the few last questions of the test. Sure, I knew the answers; they were just hidden under more important things to think about. For instance, there was only…

The myth of American invincibility has been destroyed. The oceans are no longer a buffer.

I'm always a little more relaxed when my returns home from her job in New York City.

I feel that in the beginning in our area NY, everyone was much nicer to each other,people were holding doors,just being much more low key.For me,my entire life has changed,my brother is gone,and people are going about their lives, going back to…

Every American era has its defining moments, for example Pearl Harbor or Kennedy's assasination. This era in American history will be defined by the events of September 11th.

I decided to make changes in my life toward the goal of having a family.

I no longer take for granted the freedoms that we
enjoyed without thought. Now, I have to wonder if
when I cross a bridge it is safe, traveling in a
subway is safe, or certainly flying in a plane is safe.
When I kiss my wife goodbye in the morning I…

The country, although wounded, has grown and learned. The U.S. needed to increase security. The age of large military forces attacking the homeland are over. The country now recognizes a mobile and stealthy force threatens not only the government,…

At first it drew Americans closer and more able to understand the feelings of those in countries where violence and terrorism is a daily event. Now I fear we have fallen back into thinking only of ourselves and being comfortable in being a wealthy…

I feel it's struck everyone hard, in the Pearl Harbor sense. But worse, it's allowed President Bush to support measures like the Patriot Act that take away all of our freedoms.

This is the Pearl Harbor of my generation. Our country has become complacent again since 2001. Over 3,000 families will never be the same.