User:Ian Rose/Draft5

When a friend called us late one night in Sydney and said a plane had hit the World Trade Center, I assumed it was like the B-25 Empire State Building crash in 1945 -- a bad accident but nothing worse. I was rapidly dissuaded of my complacency as we switched on the TV. It’s indeed hard to believe September 11 was 10 years ago. It was barely a week since I’d started a contract at the Royal Australian Navy’s Garden Island in Sydney, and we were immediately on high alert. Beyond the attacks themselves, many moments remain vivid: the endless debates on internal Defence forums about just what should be done in retaliation; the image of the crew of the German destroyer Lutjens with their banner "We stand by you" directed towards the nearby USS Winston S. Churchill; a mate in London relating that when he saw the footage he thought he was watching a movie, but he’d never seen a movie with such shocking special effects; my own words by email to friends in America, that we were all from New York now. On the tenth anniversary of September 11, it’s appropriate that we spare some thoughts for those who died, for their families and loved ones, and for those who survived the attacks but live with physical or emotional trauma. We should also think of the men and women of the armed services deployed for action as a result of the attacks – regardless of whether we believe that they should (still) be there. While our politicians may or may not have learnt from the Vietnam experience, we the public can hopefully remember: whatever the rights and responsibilities of the modern soldier, choosing which war to fight is not generally among them. Ian Rose (talk) 07:54, 9 September 2011 (UTC)