The World That Ended on 9/12

by Nick Orton

“Where were you on 9/11?” It’s a cliché now, yet it remains strangely symbolic—a badge some of us wear in a time when 9/11 has become a historical event marking a profound change.

I think of my dad at Vance AFB, calling his detailer to get assigned where the Marines needed him most—somewhere, anywhere—to fight and avenge this wrong. I see my mom, screaming at a guard to let her off base so she could reach her kids, unsure what would happen next. I picture my father-in-law digging through the rubble after his shift in his MTA overalls. My brother and I watched the second plane hit the towers, feeling deep in our souls that we were destined to play our parts in an uncertain future.

And yet, there was a feeling of community, a unity we haven’t experienced since then—a momentum that spread like wildfire. But even the hottest fires eventually burn out. We couldn’t shake the feeling that things would never be the same, and indeed, they never have been. That creeping realization, which I didn’t understand until I was an adult, was that on 9/12, the world we had grown up in ceased to exist. Twenty-four years ago, optimism and hope were dashed upon the rubble, and corroding uncertainty took their place.

Remember the lost, feel rage for the fallen, and weep for the loss of innocence.

Live like it’s 9/12. Stay angry. 

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“Nick” of Tales From The Grid Square is an active-duty member of the US Army and logistics officer. He has had a long-standing interest in the paranormal and is a self-proclaimed “paranormal military historian” (a term he made up). Several of his own experiences and experiences of his peers inspired him to start “Tales From The Grid Square,” where he collects and anonymously documents the paranormal stories of military service members. He hopes to elevate veteran/military voices and bridge the gap between the civilian and military. He has authored the book “Tales From The Grid Square Volume I,” a collection of 240 such stories from across the branches of the US Armed Forces as well as foreign militaries. You can share your own stories to the Instagram Account @Tales_From_The_Gridsquare or email: TalesFromTheGridsquare@gmail.com.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.