A Day Not Forgotten - Personal Essay

It was a Tuesday morning like any other. The morning was cool and dark, and you could feel the moisture of the night still lingering. We had gathered before the sun came up to take inventory of our equipment and check our gear. Everything was in working order and all things accounted, just like the dozen previous times before. No one could imagine what this day held in store for us or our country.

We were an organized group of seasoned, highly trained officers. We had practiced our routines countless times and this day began just as the rest. We departed on our hour and a half journey to Fort A.P. Hill. This is the firing range that we use most often. Unfortunately, it is the furthest of our ranges. The drive was relatively calm at this time of day in the Capitol region. If we waited any later, you would be stuck in gridlock for hours. As we made our trip, it was business as usual. The veterans of the team were relaxing. Some were sleeping; some were reading or listening to music. The new guys on the trip were required to do the driving. We made one stop along the way that proved to be an untimely event.

We pulled into the parking lot of a local McDonald's Restaurant to grab a quick breakfast to go. Since most of us had been out the night before, we needed to get some energy for the planned activities of the day. It must have been some sight for the elderly woman working behind the counter. As she looked up, you could read the fear in her eyes. A team of thirteen men, dressed in black camouflage, with handguns and rifles come stalking through the front entrance. She was relieved when all we did was place our order to go.

We pulled into the installation, showing our identification to get through the checkpoint, and proceeded to our ammunitions bunker. With the amount that we were going to use that day, we weren't able to transport it on our own. Arriving at the bunker, our officer-in-charge went inside the building to complete the paperwork. The rest of us stayed outside and waited. The day was beginning to change. It was no longer cool and dark as when we left. The skies had opened up to a cloudless blue and the sun was out starting to warm the air.

Our Lieutenant came out of the office in disgust. Our little stop this morning had cost us time on the range. Because we were late, some of our munitions were distributed to another unit and we would have to wait until they pulled our order so we could proceed.

The coming minutes would change the history of America, but you would have never known if you were looking in on us that morning. It was a scene right out of a movie. This team of SWAT members chasing each other around, goofing off, playing football with no immediate cares in the world. People were kicked back in chairs with their feet up and shirts off taking in the morning sun. It was comical until the Lieutenant came out and told us to turn on the radios.

We all gathered around looking to see what the fuss was all about. A total of seventeen people crammed into three police cruisers and our SWAT truck. The news on the radio was astonishing. No one