2,977 people died as a result of the terrorist attacks that
morning. 2,606 at the World Trade
Center location; 125 at the Pentagon; 87 on American Flight #11; 60 on United Flight #175; 59 on American Flight 77; and 40 on United Flight #93. More
than 70 countries lost citizens that day. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11,_2001_attacks)
The effects of that day continue to impact our country. As the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq rage on,
on September 5, 2011, the U.S. Central Command confirmed 6,200 casualties from the wars. 9/5/11 http://militarytimes.com/valor/
On September 1, 2011, the Associated Press reported that August 2011 marked the first month since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, that no casualties were reported in Iraq. The AP reported that 4,474 deaths had occurred in Iraq alone since 2003.
If there had never been a 9/11, families would not have lost their loved ones in these wars on foreign soil. They would not have had to meet that flag-draped casket at the airport returning from a long journey across the sea.
If there had never been a 9/11, we would not have families
whose loved ones came home missing limbs, badly burned, and debilitated from
their service to our country – not only physically wounded, but also PSYCHOLOGICALLY
wounded.
On September 5, 2011, Veterans for Common Sense reported
that every day, 18 veterans complete suicide.
For the past two years, more veterans have died as a result of suicide
than were killed by the enemy.
“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers” (J. Narosky); the
wounds of war are not always visible, but the psychological wounds of war are
just as real as the physical wounds.
Prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Veterans Administration had communicated
to the White House that the “estimated” cases of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) resulting from the war in Iraq would be 8,000. That is not a typographical error; in 2003 the
VA estimated 8,000 cases of combat related PTSD.
In September 2009, Stanford University released information
from a study which indicated that we can expect an astounding 700,000 soldiers to be impacted by
PTSD. That number is far more realistic than
the 2003 estimate.
Everyone should remember that those 700,000 soldiers have
families, and PTSD also impacts the members of that soldier’s family. I believe that on September 19, 2008 my life was directly impacted as a result of 9/11. On September 19, 2008, my wonderful, kind, caring, loving husband snapped.
If he had not been in the Army Reserve, he
would not have been activated and sent to Iraq with the invasion forces in 2003.
He would not have come home only to
receive inadequate and inappropriate care from the VA. He would not have spent 2-1/2
years confined in a county jail without a trial, and he would not have been
sitting in prison for the past 6 months.
Pat Lamoureux 9/5/2011
Southern Desert Correctional Center
If we are lucky, he will be able to come home in 3 years. We will have lost 6 years of our lives. This happened
because my husband was sent to Iraq following the events of the morning of
September 11, 2001. He was proud to serve our country - and he deserves better treatment than he has received.
None of us will never forget 9/11 – but as Americans we must also
remember the great sacrifices our military forces have made as a result of that
ill-fated day.
When you see a soldier in uniform, thank them for their
service. They serve to protect our
country in hopes that we will never suffer another attack on our country as we did on 9/11/01.
God bless everyone whose life was changed because of that
ill-fated day in 2001. ~ Sue Lamoureux 
