Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Children at the Pentagon on 9/11/01

An email sent to me worth passing on:



This is little-known story from the Pentagon on 09/11/2001: During a visit with a fellow chaplain, who happened to be assigned to the Pentagon, I had a chance to hear a first-hand account of an incident that happened right after Flight 77 hit the Pentagon. The chaplain told me what happened at a daycare center near where the impact occurred. This daycare had many children, including infants who were in heavy cribs. The daycare supervisor, looking at all the children they needed to evacuate, was in a panic over what they could do. There were many children, mostly toddlers, as well as the infants that would need to be taken out with the
cribs. There was no time to try to bundle them into carriers and strollers.
Just then a young Marine came running into the center and asked what they needed. After hearing what the center director was trying to do, he ran back
out into the hallway and disappeared. The director thought, 'Well, there we
are - on our own.' About 2 minutes later, that Marine returned with 40 other Marines in tow. Each of them grabbed a crib with a child, and the rest started gathering up toddlers. The director and her staff then helped them take all the children out of the center and down toward the park near the Potomac and the Pentagon. Once they got about 3/4 of a mile outside the building, the Marines stopped in the park, and then did a fabulous thing - they formed a circle with the cribs, which were quite sturdy and heavy, like the covered wagons in the Old West. Inside this circle of cribs, they put the toddlers, to
keep them from wandering off. Outside this circle were the 40 Marines,
forming a perimeter around the children and waiting for instructions. There
they remained until the parents could be notified and come get their children . The chaplain then said, "I don't think any of us saw nor heard of this on any of the news stories of the day. It was an incredible story of our men there. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. The thought of those Marines and what they did and how fast they reacted; could we expect any less from them? It was one of the most touching stories from the Pentagon. Remember Ronald Reagan's great compliment: "Most of us wonder if our lives made any difference. Marines don't have that problem." God Bless the USA , our troops, and you. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." It's the Military, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press. It's the Military, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.
It's the Military, not the politicians that ensures our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and
whose coffin is draped by the flag. If you care to offer the smallest token of recognition and appreciation for the military, please pass this on and pray for our men and women who have served and are currently serving our country and pray for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for freedom.

"I expect to pass through this world but once;any good therefore that I can do... let me do it now...for I shall not pass this way again."

7 comments:

Reflection Through The Seasons said...

What an incredible story!

I called over to wish you a Happy Birthday... Have a blessed day sweet Sista. I'm thinking of you and sending much love. Marion

Hope our package arrived in time.

Georgia Peach said...

That is an amazing story! It is sooo right about what freedoms the Military has awarded us not the press or anyone or anything else. I am a PROUD Military Mom and watching each of my three sons leave is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in this life, however the military is what made them the men that they are today. One son served in the Marines and the younger two in the Army. My middle son is preparing for his third deployment and although my heart is breaking I will stand tall to be his support system back home. God Bless all of our military men and women and protect them!

Betty said...

Amen! The military families are heroes also. God bless them all.

Betty

Tanya said...

What a great story. Thank you for sharing it.

C Garrick said...

As wonderful as this story is and as deserving as our marines are, this, unfortunately, did not happen. This is close to a story about the Park Rangers who were there. see: http://www.snopes.com/rumors/glurge/daycare.asp

Anonymous said...

C Garrick,
Thank you for the clarification. We do owe so much to our military for the priceless job they do for our country. We certainly need to give credit where credit is due. The Park Rangers have a monumental task also in their service...so thanks Park Rangers for your services....and thank you C Garrick.

Betty said...

I am having comment issues today...I wrote the comment above and had to sign as anonymous to get it posted...

Betty @ Country Charm