Motivation of 9/11

By Mrs. Melissa Buckley (Leonard Wood)September 15, 2014

Motivation of 9/11
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Known as Patriot Day or the National Day of Service and Remembrance -- for some service members Sept. 11, 2001, marks the day they chose to leave their civilian lives behind and become defenders of freedom.

"We were under attack. I left school and drove to the nearest recruiting station. I walked in and said, 'Send me. I want to fight,'" said Sgt. 1st Class Curtis Swearengen, Combat Engineer Heavy Track Course noncommissioned officer-in-charge. "I felt so small, so insignificant and completely helpless watching it all happen. I wanted to make a difference. I didn't want other people to fight this battle for me."

Then 19-years-old, Swearengen was sitting in a diesel mechanic's class in Kansas when an instructor came in and announced the news developing on the East Coast.

"Before that, joining the Army had never even crossed my mind. I had a plan. I was going to trade school, and I wanted to own my own business," Swearengen said. "That day caused my life to do a 180. It was a horrible day, but I'm glad that I made the decision to join. I don't regret it one bit."

By that November he was on a bus headed to Fort Leonard Wood for basic training. Since then, he has deployed three times as a combat engineer.

"I am very proud to be a Soldier. I don't deserve any recognition for my job. I am just proud of myself, and that is all I could ever ask for," Swearengen said.

The tragedy of 9/11 also moved Marine Staff Sgt. Donald Snyder, Engineer Equipment Instruction Company, Marine Corps Detachment, to enlist.

"I joined the Marine Corps directly because of 9/11," Snyder said.

He was working as a stocker in a California retail store as he followed the series of four coordinated terrorist attacks in New York City and the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

"I remember being on break when the news panned to the smoke from the first plane hitting. I watched as the second plane hit the tower live, and I just about dropped my coffee," Snyder said. "I immediately decided then and there that I wanted to serve my country."

"I got off around 11 a.m. and went straight to the recruiters office. I went to boot camp a few months later, and a year later I was in Iraq doing exactly what I had wanted to do from the morning of 9/11."

This year Fort Leonard Wood is hosting a brief Patriot Day remembrance and prayer observance. The event is planned for 11:30 a.m. today on the steps of Hoge Hall in the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Plaza.

"The Patriot Day ceremony is an opportunity for teammates to reflect and pray," said Col. Michael Thomas, senior installation chaplain.

Related Links:

Fort Leonard Wood GUIDON Newspaper

Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and Fort Leonard Wood