In Remberence

I have joined forces with other bloggers to remember the tragedy of September 11, 2001 by paying tribute to each person that lost their life on that fateful day five years ago. I remember

David LaForge

David was 50 years old and was a member of the New York Fire Department. He was confirmed dead either in or at the World Trade Center. A member of Ladder Company 20 on Lafayette Street in Manhattan, he drove the front of the ladder truck for his Company. He was survived by his mother and father, Ethel & James LaForge as well as a sister Jane and a cousin Dr. Robert Malokie.

He is described as a "quiet fireman with a thick mustache" who was living a childhood dream to be a firefighter, starting as a youngster peddling a miniature fire engine across his family's home in Staten Island. A job with North American Van Lines followed where he traveled the country driving a big rig. He joined the department 24 years prior to September 11 and was the "chauffeur" for the team.

His sister, Jane A. Schewerd said that he "liked to go fast" adding that his off duty choice of transportation was a Pontiac Firebird.

David was 50 years old when he died trying to save others in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on our country. He was forever helping neighbors. His sister said that he was "the one everyone called upon. And he always answered the call".

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I want to take a minute to add that I hope this country never forgets the way we all felt that day. I remember I was driving to work when I heard the news. I got to work just in time to see the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. I remember feeling sick, knowing that this was a purposeful attack on our country. Though I was not yet a parent, I remember thinking "what kind of world will my child grow up in?". I remember the quietness of work that day. The phones rarely rang and we stayed glued to the television set. I remember coming home and sitting on the back porch of my house with my head in my husband's lap looking up at the sky. On a normal night you can see the blink of several airplanes crisscrossing the night sky above our house. That night there were none. It was an eerie sight and feeling. I remember hearing the stories of those who had lost loved ones and those who were still searching for loved ones amongst the rubble at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I remember how helpless I felt. I tried to grasp the reality of the situation. The reality that the world we lived in changed that day. Though I live in Alabama, which is far removed from New York City, Washington DC and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, I was affected greatly by this tragedy. I knew no one personally who was killed or injured in the attacks, yet I know several who have been deployed to fight for our freedom since September 11. Our world changed forever that day. Think back to the life we had before then. The words we'd never heard of: Homeland Security, the Terror Alert Level, did we really know where Afghanistan and Iraq were? We are now a Country at war. I pray that this county never forgets those that gave their lives that day. But we must also remember the heroism of the fire fighters and the lives that they saved that day.

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So, what about you? What are your feelings as we look back five years later?