Resolved

Working at the Pentagon is a constant reminder that we are in a war, and no, we aren't over the attacks of Sept 11, 2001 yet. At least the families of the victims and the people I work with are not over it. I had the privilege Monday of helping with the 911 memorial services here. Got to listen to the Vice President's speech up close; meet the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and watched President Bush and the First Lady hug and cry with the victims' familes at the wreath laying at the crash site on the Western Wall. From what I saw, our leaders sincerely care. But the most profound moments of the day were spent with two of the still-grieving families, just sitting down and listening to where they are in this journey of sorrow. As folks were milling about the memorial, waiting for the President to appear, I sat down beside an older couple and struck up conversation. The father, a retired sheet metal contractor, was talkative about his son who was in the Pentagon that day. Trying to get beyond the agony of his death, he volunteered to join the team rebuilding the site. He would personally lay the duct work in the office where his son died, a memorial to his boy and a testament to the American spirit. What a family. What a nation. I said goodbye to him and his wife realizing that we are in this fight for many reasons, not the least of which are the families. They deserve to see justice served. May God grant us the resolve to serve it.

--A.T.