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 Previous: Hurricane Watch Net Keeping an Eye on Iris |  Next: Connecticut State Convention Logs a Good Turnout |
By David Sumner, K1ZZ
ARRL Executive Vice President
October 8, 2001
Editor's note: Typically, only ARRL members get to read the "It Seems to Us ..." editorials that run each month in QST. We're posting this editorial by ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, that appears in the November 2001 issue of QST in the hope that both ARRL members and nonmembers might appreciate it and find it informative.
The day dawned perfectly in the northeastern United States. It was the sort of late-summer morning that heralds the imminent arrival of that most glorious of seasons: autumn, with its iridescent foliage and crispness in the air that makes the drawing of every breath a pure delight. It was a great day to be alive.
At 8:48 AM all that changed. The world changed, probably forever.
There is no need to describe here the horrific events of that second Tuesday morning in September, not that mere words possibly could. The images are burned into our minds and will stay with us as long as we live.
For those who lost loved ones the void can never be filled. For the rest of us, time may take some of the edge off the pain. Passing years may cause us to forget how helpless we felt as we experienced a chain of catastrophes unprecedented in American history, utterly incapable of knowing when or whether they would end. This may happen, but for now it seems impossible. Nothing, it seems, can ever be the same.
The attacks occurred on American soil, but it was not simply a national tragedy. We now know that it was an international tragedy, with people from more than 60 countries and every major faith tradition counted among its victims. But in the first moments of that terrible morning it was natural for Americans to feel isolated from the rest of the world. Our own jetliners, symbols of American technological prowess, had been turned against us. If we could not even trust our own mechanical creations, who and what could we trust? Were we alone in a world that suddenly had turned unimaginably hostile?
The answers soon began to arrive. Here in Newington they came in the form of emailed messages of condolence and support from radio amateurs throughout the world that began to arrive that very same morning, first as a trickle but soon as a flood. They came from our sister societies in countries as diverse as Japan, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Syria, Yugoslavia, and dozens of others. They came from individuals in these and many other countries, some of whom shared their stories of why the United States occupied a special place in their hearts -- stories of great sacrifices made by GIs, of aid given when it was most needed after World War II, or simply of kindness shown by an individual American that reflected the best values of our open society. Thanks to the thoughtfulness of our unique, global Amateur Radio fraternity, before that awful day had ended we were privileged to know what many Americans would not discover until later in the week: We are not alone. The entire civilized world shares our grief and our outrage.
Less than a lifetime ago the United States and its allies were fighting a two-ocean war against ruthless, implacable enemies. Today we count these former enemies among our closest friends. Some of the first messages offering comfort and support came from countries that experienced their own brush with the Apocalypse delivered by American bombers. Their friendship today did not spring from defeat and subjugation. Rather, it sprouted from seeds planted by what Tom Brokaw calls The Greatest Generation--my father's generation, the generation that not only won the war but equally importantly, also won the peace. Will my own generation do as well? Decades from now, will our children and grandchildren live in a world where today's enemies are friends? Or will they be forced to retreat into armed camps, suspicious of differences, unable to know the wondrous diversity the world has to offer?
As the war on terrorism is launched it is difficult to hold such lofty thoughts for long. The wounds are too fresh and too deep. Living one day at a time is challenge enough. Yet, as radio amateurs we can at least do this much. As the terrorists and their few sympathizers look for evidence that the civilized world is tearing itself apart, let them draw no comfort from what they hear on the ham bands. We are communicators. Let us communicate our resolve that the world must remain united in the face of terrorism. Let us communicate our respect for one another across the boundaries of nationality, religion, cultural background, and the other myriad ways society seeks to group us. Let us communicate our desire to increase our understanding of one another.
And let us remember the radio amateurs who died on that terrible Tuesday morning. Even as we look with hope toward the future, we know that our fraternity is the poorer for their loss.
We regret to report that the following Amateur Radio operators are listed among those missing from the World Trade Center and Pentagon Disasters:
· Steven A. "Steve" Jacobson, N2SJ, 53, an ARRL member and a WPIX transmitter engineer from New York City.
· William V. "Bill" Steckman, WA2ACW, of W Hempstead, New York, a WNBC transmitter engineer.
· Michael G. Jacobs, AA1GO, 54, an ARRL member from Danbury, Connecticut.
· Robert D. "Bob" Cirri Sr, KA2OTD, 39, an ARRL member from Nutley, New Jersey, and ARRL Hudson County District Emergency Coordinator. A Port Authority Police officer, Cirri was helping to evacuate workers from the World Trade Center when it collapsed.
· William R. "Bill" Ruth, W3HRD, 58, of Mt Airy, Maryland, an ARRL member, who died in Pentagon attack. He was a Vietnam and Gulf war veteran and worked in the Pentagon.
· Gerard J. "Rod" Coppola, KA2KET, 46, of New York City.
· Winston A. Grant, KA2DRF, 59, of W Hempstead, New York.
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