I was laying on the sofa watching “In Harm’s Way”. I had just delivered the boys to school. My wife’s nephew Mike came across the street and told me to turn on the news. The second airplane struck the Tower just as I tuned in. It took me a minute to soak in that this was no accident. As I left to go get the kids, I told Mike to fill all the sinks and tub with water. By the time I got back our roommate Andy was awake and told him and the kids to break out our camping equipment and start filling milk jugs with water. I called another friend to say it was time to break out the weapons and meet at my house with a full tank of gas. I wasn’t so sure there wasn’t a attack on Sin City coming our way so I started our bug out plan.
Then I called the wife at work. Her boss took a message. I said, “Tell her Family Plan Alpha was in effect. He asked her what that meant. She said, “If I’m not waiting for him on the loading dock in 20 minutes he will come in and get me. Do you remember what happened when I miscarried?”
She was standing on the loading dock when I pulled up. We went home and watched TV until it was apparent that Las Vegas wasn’t a target.
12 years ago, you mean?
Yeah, thanks. Where’s your story?
I’d just dropped the wife off at her ship- USS Decatur a DDG and the daughter off at on base day care when the first plane hit. The second tower was hit while was pulling into SDSU for classes. I bagged the classes and went home and phoned everyone in the recruiting system I could think of . They did not want to reactivate me. I’d retired from the Navy in 1995. My wife was supposed to be gone to Seal Beach to off-load weapons. Out and back in a day. I didn’t see her for over a month. Her ship, among many, was making sure that nothing bigger than a sea gull was in SoCal airspace.