Ellen Krenke

     Every year at this time, I pause to reflect on the events of 9/11 and the lasting effect it has had on us as a family and as a nation.
     Because on that day, I was an Air Force officer working in a building in Crystal City across the beltway from the Pentagon, but my two daughters were at the Pentagon day care center.
     It was a beautiful September morning, and I rode by bicycle from our house, which was about 1/2 mile from Mount Vernon, down the Potomac River bike trail to Crystal City.
     My husband dropped the girls at the day care on his way to his office in Rosslyn, which is located on the other side of the Pentagon. This was our routine, but after that day it would be changed forever.     
     I got into the office just before 9 a.m., and settled into my seat. A 50-inch television was located directly to the left of my desk, because I was a media relations officer for the National Guard Bureau.
     When the first plane hit at 8:46 a.m., I said to someone walking by, “Hey, some idiot just flew a plane into the World Trade Center.” We watched for a few minutes and then continued working.
     After the second plane hit, a crowd started to gather. We had the only television in the building, and everyone wanted to see what was happening.
     Then an announcement was made that a plane was headed for Washington. I was worried about the girls, but I was also worried about my husband, who had a meeting at the New Executive Office building that morning to plan a White House event. I tried to call him several times, but got no response.
     When the plane hit the Pentagon, the mood in the office changed dramatically. My job was to answer questions from the media about the National Guard’s response to these attacks. But first I had to make sure my family was O.K.
     Someone asked if I wanted to borrow their vehicle to drive to the Pentagon to check on the girls. I said yes and left immediately.
     It was a quick drive. I left the car in the Pentagon parking lot hoping that it wouldn’t be towed (yes that thought actually went through my head).
     The plane crashed into the opposite side of the building. Smoke was billowing from the crash site. Paper was raining down on us. The smell was a combination of jet fuel, burning rubber and everything else. 
     Day care workers had moved the children out of the building and across the street to a park area next to the Potomac River. The babies, including my daughter, Grace, who was 11 months old, were pushed outside in their cribs. She was fast asleep. When I found my daughter, April, who was three, her first question was: “Can we go look at the river?”
     Thankfully, both were too young to understand what was going on and hopefully my anxiousness didn’t affect them.
     At times like these, you focus on your mother. The “Hail Mary” was on the tip of my tongue.
     A friend of mine from the Mississippi National Guard was checking on his son, because it was his first day at the day care center.
     Bill was in the right place at the right time. His office took a direct hit and everyone inside was killed.
     While we were there, someone said another plane was headed for the Capitol. I was still trying to get in touch with my husband, when Bill asked if I wanted a ride to Rosslyn.
     As we arrived at my husband’s office, he was walking out to his car. I will be forever grateful to my friend for that ride away from the Pentagon. I was relieved to have all of us together at last.
     I’m not sure what time it was, but we were headed home. The traffic was bad. People were walking down the George Washington Parkway, because the metro was closed. I started trying to call my family to let them know that we were O.K. The phone lines were up and down, but I finally got through to my brother.
     After we made it home and everyone was in place, I went back to work. Traffic was getting worse with civilian offices and businesses closing early. I got as close as I could to my building and parked my car. Again hoping that it wouldn’t be towed away.
     As a mother, your first reaction at any attempt to harm your children is to protect them.
     As a mother/Airman, your reaction is the same, but you also know that you have a job to do to ensure their continued safety.
     9/11 is a day that we will never forget and will have an everlasting impact on our children, especially those who lost a loved one.
     I visited my daughters at lunch time every day, and I noticed another mother who did the same. Her daughter was a toddler, and they would sit together and talk and play in the front waiting area. She was killed in her office on 9/11, and I still think about and pray for her family.
     Several months and years after 9/11, my daughters always pointed out where the plane hit the Pentagon.
     The events of that day took away our sense of security, but
they should not take away our faith that God does not want harm for us.
     According to Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.”