[MRCA] [Milsurplus] Rembering 9/11, 25 years later

Fri Sep 11 13:12:52 EDT 2026

It was the second or third week of Fall semester of my freshman year at
Michigan State University. I had signed up for Army ROTC as an elective
because I had always been interested in a career in the military. By the
end of the school year our ROTC class looked very different than it did on
that day. Somehow, many of the cadets with four-year scholarships that
morning found other ways to finance their higher education, and those of us
who remained knew exactly why we were still there, and that we had a job to
do.

73, Never Forget,

Scott Pastor, kc8kbk
Major, U.S. Army (retired)

On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 12:33 PM KD2GIY via MRCA <mrca at mailman.qth.net>
wrote:

> Gene,
> Thank you for that story, it's good to see our hobby was able to help that
> woman.
>
> I myself reflect on this day in a thankful way.
> I'm thankful I'm still alive because on that day I was in the world trade
> center. Specifically the PATH train in the basement. I would take the PATH
> train from journal square then walk through the mall in the trade center
> then a few blocks to South ferry to go back to Staten Island.
>
> Never again, never should have happened.
>
>
> Best regards
> Dave
> KD2GIY
>
> On Fri, Sep 11, 2026, 12:18 PM Gene Smar via MRCA <mrca at mailman.qth.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Twenty-five years ago, I was working from home when my wife called me
>> from her work as a nurse at the local hospital. She asked if I were
>> watching TV. I said no. She said turn on the TV and hung up.
>>
>> I saw the smoking North Tower. Minutes later the second plane hit the
>> South Tower. I turned on my HF radio to monitor for any emcomm nets.
>>
>> In early afternoon I heard a call on 40M from a W2 Ham asking if anyone
>> could place a phone call to Rockville, MD, my home QTH. I answered and
>> offered to make the call. The message was from a woman in NJ whose fiance
>> lived in Rockville but worked in the Pentagon. She'd been trying to reach
>> him at work and home all morning, but could not get through - "fast busy"
>> signal from the jammed telephone circuits between NYC and WDC areas. She
>> wanted to know if he was ok.
>>
>> I dialed his home number and, after a couple of rings, he answered. I
>> explained that I was a Ham radio operator and had a message from his
>> fiance. He told me he was OK. He didn't go into work that day. He asked me
>> to pass along to his fiance that he was safe at home, that he would call
>> her that evening if he could, and that he loved her.
>>
>> I hung up the phone and called the W2 on 40. He responded and I told him
>> I spoke with the fiance and passed along his message. He told me he'd
>> contact the woman with this reassuring news.
>>
>> A couple hours later, while I was still listening to 40, the W2 Ham
>> called me again. He said the woman was relieved with the news from her
>> fiance and was grateful for our help in contacting him.
>>
>> May the victims all rest in peace.
>>
>> 73 de
>> Gene Smar AD3F
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Radio Shack TRS-80 model 100 laptop
>>
>> On Fri, Sep 11, 2026 at 11:06 AM, n2lxm--- via Milsurplus
>> <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>>
>> I was a volunteer for the local Red Cross Chapter in Central New Jersey
>> on 9 / 11. I got the call to get to the chapter and load up. We were needed
>> in the Atlantic Highland’s. We spent hours getting people off of boats and
>> onto buses. I could see the smoke across the bay. The look on the people’s
>> faces is something I will never forget. May All that were lost that Day
>> Rest in Peace. And Bless All those who responded to the Call,
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>                                                            N2LXM
>>                                                          American
>>                                                            Patriot
>>                                       Proud Father of Two U.S. Marines
>>                                                         Semper Fy
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