RAF MILDENHALL, England -- I was at Columbus Air Force Base, Miss., half-way through pilot training. I'd just completed T-37s and was moving on to T-1s, and was going through the academic portion. 

We were in class when we heard that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At first we assumed it was just a small plane - we didn't have any televisions on at that point. But then it became clear it was a very big deal; that it was actually a terrorist attack. 

We were released from academic training for the day and were told to return to our dorms. So we all got together in one room and watched the events unfold, made dinner, and talked about it and how it was going to change everything. 

I was getting phone calls all that day, from all my friends back home in Medina, Ohio, asking, "What's going on? What's going to happen to you? Are you going to be OK?"
I told them, "Well, basically all I can do right now is fly a circle." 

I was still just learning how to fly, and told them to just stay calm, and that I wouldn't be going anywhere too soon, or too quickly. 

From that point, Sept. 11, 2001, that's how it was - very somber and very subdued.
Everyone knew this was going to change everything forever. There was very high anxiety on base. 

My dad was down in Houston, Texas, and was supposed to fly back to Cleveland, Ohio, but he had to get a rental car to drive all the way back, so he stopped in to see me and say hi. 

He was a former Air Force pilot, and he just kind of gave me a look that said, "Well, it's your turn now!" 

At that point I'd been in the Air Force for about a year. 

When I was in college, I did an internship and spent four weeks in England for ROTC. During that time, Kosovo was going on, and they were launching F-15Es out of RAF Lakenheath, with munitions directly attached. I saw it going on, and I read a "Newsweek" article on the plane on the way to England, about the atrocities going on in Kosovo, and all the mass genocide that was going on. 

I got really upset, and I knew from that point if I could do anything, it was more than set in stone that I was going to be joining the Air Force. I knew if I could do something to help prevent this type of thing in the future, and to make the world a better place, then that was how I was going to do it. 

It really affected me very strongly. 

So when Sept. 11, happened, I thought, "Now's my chance. This is why I'm here."
I was very upset and (angry), because the terrorists were using our own freedom in our society to attack us - to use the freedom we provide all people, of all ages. To use that against us and attack the freedom we've provided the world, it's unthinkable. 

It was a pretty emotional day. Being an American, I was pretty affected by it.
(Seeing the programs on television every year about Sept. 11) is a good reminder. 

I think the effect that the terrorists wanted to have is for our society to collapse; they wanted to cause mass chaos and panic. 

Instead, it galvanized our country - the next day, there were flags and signs of patriotism everywhere. It brought the country together. 

I think if anything, the remembrance of 9/11 helps to instill that patriotic feeling again. We need to keep that strong. 

It's important to remember what happened, and what people are still fighting for now, and to keep that patriotic sense alive. It's what America's all about. 

Two years later to the day, I was in the Middle East, flying over Afghanistan on Sept. 11.
We'd brought several American flags with us to fly for families and friends. 

We unfurled one and hung it up, and had our own little peace of mind, saying "Hey, we're here doing something about it."