79-year-old James Higdon spends his retirement years as the Historian for the Andy Anderson American Legion Post 125 and President of Chapter One of the New York Transit Retirees of Florida. He and his wife retired in St. Petersburg in 1990, but before then, both worked for several decades in New York.
On September 11, 2001, Higdon and his wife watched the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on the news.
“It must be terrorists,” he told his wife. “Before I could get my entire sentence out, the second plane hit,” Higdon said.
But, they weren’t watching history unfold in their living room in Florida, they were in New York, visiting family.
Higdon’s shock turned to concern when calls weren’t going through to his family. His grand daughter Rochelle Hathorne worked just one block away from the World Trade Center.
“When she got home, she was covered in soot.” He said she walked home; the city was in gridlock.
“She said she saw people jump and she saw limbs all around the building.”
“It was a sad occasion, that day,” he said.
Higdon and his family lost friends that day.
Despite the tragic events, Higdon says the patriotism across the country has grown and continues to grow as the Freedom Tower is constructed.
Ironically, Sept. 11, 2001 was the first time I attended a mid-week drill. Dozens of us were gathered at the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center for a mass-casualty exercise taking place in the middle of Tampa Bay. What unfolded shortly after 9:00 a.m., was shocking, It forever changed my work in Coast Guard public affairs, and changed our nation in ways that are still unfolding. The events of that day led to a seven-year active duty assignment working on issues affecting us at home and abroad. From working as media spokesperson during the anthrax clean-up operations in Boca Grande, Fla.to military outload operations at various southeastern ports, to community outreach on improved interoperability and communications during man-made or natural crises, my work changed dramatically. I believe it changed life for most of us. We also had family touring the mid-east and it was challenging to establish communications. It was a somber and a busy time - and I recall a hurricane brewing as well. Although i can hardly believe a decade has passed, I felt deeply moved listening to the bagpipes and national anthem played at Ground Zero this morning. It's a good day for reflection. Judy Silverstein Gray
Some years later, I covered my first of unfortunately, many soldier’s funerals and memorial services as a journalist. But, my first service hit me the hardest and left an imprint of what sacrifice really means in America. Staff Sgt. Daniel Cuka with the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 147th Field Artillery Unit in Yankton, South Dakota, died on December 4, 2005. Cuka was killed by a roadside bomb . . . and as I sit here and write this today, I realize he was 27 years old. I am 27 years old. I feel a tremendous sadness and feeling of sorrow for his family, friends and his then 2-year-old son. I was the photographer shooting video outside in the snow and at the graveside service. Through the viewfinder I saw the Honor Guard fold the American Flag and present it to his widow. There are moments that we all remember, that change us . . . that was my moment.
Thank you to all those who served and continue to serve today, Cherlene Willis