The Poles on 9/11

Posted By Blackfive

Received an email from Marian Jordan Lewandowski of Gdynia, Poland (a beautiful coastal town of about 230,000 residents), who wanted us to know that, today, we are not alone:

As every year , in my little town lost somewhere at the end of the world - at seaside of Poland, people fold flowers and inflame candles to celebrate the memory of innocent victims of the attack on WTC which were killed from the hand of animals.

From the hand of animals which shamed all other animals

The inscription proclaims :   On September 11th,2001 our hearts stopped petrified with horror - on that day we were all New Yorkers.  On the 1st anniversary of the terrorist attack on WTC - inhabitants of Gdynia.

Thank you, friends - Jordan, and Gdynia, Poland.

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» September 11, 2001 from Steeljaw Scribe
09:37:25 EDT 11 Sep 01 "We Remember..." -SJS [Read More]

Comments

[kg2v]

A big thanks from NYC - Remembering a couple of missing friends from that day, Damm I wish we (civilians) had something like the Absent Companions ritual

[Grimmy]

kg2v:

Invent one. All rituals start somewhere. Build one for yourself and your family/friends.

[kg2v]

Yeah - I guess - I won't be able to do what I've done every 9/11 since then (raise a glass) due to being on narcotics - scotch and vicodan doesn't mix. I guess I'll have to raise a vitual glass

And to all you men and women out there protecting us - THANK YOU - some of us, even in this Blue State of NY remember, and appreciate it.

I think maybe that's what I'll do - stop one of the soldiers in Penn Station, and just say "thank you"

[tommygun]

Great idea Kg2v. I will do the same later today at Dulles.

[Mr.Sparkle]

Yeah but they are ex-pats in Poland, right? Way to hyperbolic than for anybody but Americans to have written!

RIP to the victims of terrorism, don't forget all the civilians who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan are an extension of those 3,000 Americans.

[kg2v]

wouldn't you know - I didn't see ONE Soldier this morning in my trip through the station - I guess it will have to be this afternoon

[bthun]

Echo: To all the men and women protecting the rest of us and to their families who give them support, THANK YOU. It's not enough, but there it is.

Grimmy has it right, start your own ritual. This old civi's ritual every 9/11 at 8:46 a.m. edt is to ring the large 24" cast iron farm bell on our back deck, one time. I lowered our flag and rang the bell just a few moments ago. Tonight at dinner I raise a toast to the fallen with the wife and daughters.

Neither I or my family will ever forget.

[Steeljaw Scribe]

09:37:25 EDT 11 Sep 01
'We Remember...'
-SJS

[defendusa]

Grim,
I took your advice. I picked up my own Old Glory from her post and I put on my best red shirt. Off went at 0820 to make it up to the main road by 0846, and then to the crossing guard for 0902. I got a few thumbs up and a friend called me whom I did not see in my trek and said, "Thanks." Never forget.

[jordan]

Wow. That stone inscription is eerily similar to one we put up in our neighborhood. The only thing is, it's more pro-American and patriotic than ours.

At "that time" I looked up in the sky and thought, "Look! We're still slugging it out down here! We're not beat yet. We sent our children to fight them over there, while we fight here -- in Congressional hearing rooms, in PTA meetings where some seek to erase information about 9/11 (it's divisive), and in schools where we (amid all the other global nonsense) teach them America is good and worth saving.

A report on the Pentagon ceremonies points out that the very next day, September 12th, the Pentagon employees went back to work to find and kill the enemy. That's the fiber of those charged with our protection, including one Gen. Petraeus sitting amid a crush of people and cameras all trained on him. I hope that makes it into the history books, too.

No retreat, no surrender, indeed.

[Grimmy]

defendusa:

Just to make sure there's no misident at work here, I'm not Grim.

Grim, a contributor to this site, and owner of Grim's Hall -
http://grimbeorn.blogspot.com/

is an insightful, intelligent and decent human being. I, on the other hand am a hateful, spiteful, "kill-em-all"ist when it comes to our enemy, all who support that enemy in anyway what-so-ever and all those who refuse to get up off their knees and confront our enemy.

We are two different persons.

[Mommynator]

Thank you, indeed.

This is especially heavy since my son is now in Kuwait awaiting transfer to Kirkuk for his second time around in the sandbox. He was stop lossed and will not be discharged on his original date in January.

[defendusa]

oops...it should have said Grimmy-Sorry Grim...

[defendusa]

I jsut saw your post GrimMY, and I am a Killemall too person. It's all or nothing...peace through victory!!

[Mr.Sparkle]

Grimmy and defendUSA eat baby pandas for breakfast!

Mommynator what's your son's job in the army? How old is he?

[Lands’nGrooves]

Sparkle,

I spit in your general direction.

Sincerely,

Tim

[Bart Hall (Kansas, USA)]

Not so sparkling, Sparkle. The tone is that of something originally written in Polish, not English. Dupek.

Nie wierz mu, przyjaciele. Serdecznie dziękuję, i Bóg błogosławi Polskę.

[JihadGene]

Thanks. Not forgotten. Remembering 9/11 out here on the left coast.
Me eat baby pandas?....Tastes like chicken! Damn! Now I'm thinking about Senator's Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, and Harry Reid.

[JihadGene]

Dupek...Isn't that served with crow in the UK?

[Ann]

OK, so far this morning (I'm on West Coast time here), I had managed to not cry. This post from Poland did me in, however. I am touched and thankful for the people in Gdynia, Poland, standing with our country as we remember these sad, tragic events -- contrasted incredible heroism -- of six years ago.

[Blackfive]

Not so, Sparky. I happen to live in a town with more Polish speaking people than any other place in the world - second only to Warsaw.

Nice try to diminish an observance. Pathetic.

Now, piss off and go back to your studies.

Cordially,

Blackfive

[Mr.Sparkle]

I didn't mean to cause offence mate, it just puzzled me. I suppose a lot of the families who live in that town have family who emigrated to the US.

It's charming nonetheless (if puzzling!)

[Mr.Sparkle]

Actually JihadGene we serve Dupek with kutas and dog's rozpierducha

[Devil Dog Dad]

Mommynator, hang in there, tell your son to keep up the good work and thank him.

Sparkle, puzzle this.. humans empathizing and honoring innocents murdered by psychopaths more than willing to give YOU a slit across the neck, you fool. take your passive aggressive problems elsewhere.

[kg2v]

So, this afternoon, I looked around for a soldier - and I did find ONE - by the wqiting room of the LIRR. I walked up to her and said "Hi, (at this instant she looked a little concerned -as did the 2 cops with her) I'd just like to say thank you for serving, particularly on this day" she stuck out her hand for a handshake and said (with a bit of a quiver in her voice, "You're welcome" - at wich point I turned to the 2 police officers and said "You too guys" - they just brushed it off, but..

I really don't think she expected thanks in NYC, but there it is...

[Rich Casebolt]

kg2v -- for years, I didn't expect civility in NYC, as I looked on it from flyover country.

Then y'all went through September 11, 2001 ...

... and the humanity became evident.

Now, as I live on LI, I still see the humanity ... still under a gruff exterior on occasion, but there.

********************

I remember that day ... I was probably the most clueless person on the planet as it happened, though.

I came into the office (in Plano, TX) about 8:30 CST and heard my office manager talking about something happening in NYC. She asked if I had a TV I could bring over (I didn't).

A little while later, I called my (retired) parents, and asked what they were seeing on the news. What my mom said floored me ...

"The towers are GONE!"

I continued to follow the story on the Internet. Around noon, I went back to my apartment, and watched the taped accounts of what happened ...

... in total astonishment at the violence and destruction ...

... the sight of people jumping from the Towers ...

... the knowledge that there were people who went in to rescue others ... and weren't coming out ...

... the knowledge that some on those planes, like Barbara Olsen, knew what might be coming, soon enough to call their loved ones ...

... and of course, those on UA93, who by then knew what was coming ... and decided to put a stop to it, one way or the other ... modern, unforseen Minutemen in the first battle of this War.

Over the next few days, the quiet of the skies was a constant reminder of what had happened. Normally, planes were always flying over as they took off and landed at Addison Airport and Dallas Air Park ... but the skies were the quietest they had been since the Wright Brothers.

Fast forward to today ... as I listened to the start of the name-reading ceremony on the radio as I was heading for the office, my thoughts went back to John Brett Cahill, the UA175 passenger who I wrote about last year as a part of the 2996 project. My hope, and prayer, is that his family continues their healing.

And, my thoughts keep looking forward, as to what we do to prevent this from happening again ... so that only one name is read, and one folded flag is passed, at a time ... and that being to honor someone at the end of a long, peaceful, and fruitful life.

May we have the wisdom, to do what it takes to make it happen ... so that the events of 11 September 2001 remain a memory, and never become deja vu.

[Arch]

Sparkle:

Are you really from the UK? When I could, I scheduled my travel to be in London for Remembrance Day. The ceremony is, in my view, without equal. I watched the Queen Mother place a wreath at the Cenotaph and listened to the the War Poets, especially the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon's "For The Fallen."

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

The British understand the horrible cost of war and the bell tolls at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Traffic stops. Speech stops.

Show some respect.

Arch

[Arch]

Sparkle:

Baby Panda tastes like chicken.

Arch

[ajacksonian]

My deep and abiding thanks to the People of Poland who has stood by America and sent her sons to help us forge our Revolution and fight side by side with our People. No other People have been so steadfast in their view of America as a land of liberty, even when their governments were imposed from outside the Polish People did not lose sight of this land they helped make free.

My family and others of Polish descent would do the same, sending care packages from our families, church groups and social organizations to let you know that during the darkest times of Communism you were not forgotten. Even when our own government would rather do that. We would not forget that gift of forging our land and mixing your blood with ours, so that we could be free.

Poland stood in Vienna so that we do not speak Arabic today and bow to Mecca.

Poland stood with these brave colonies in America to help them be free.

Poland stands by us in Afghanistan and Iraq, even when their government is in disrepute, although our own is heading to that level in these latter days, too.

It is to my deep and abiding shame as an American for my Nation that we do not offer the Polish People the bounty of free trade and investment so that we may be stronger together as free peoples. Before Canada and Mexico were even Nations, there was Poland. Even when we could do little when Poland was bi-sected, tri-sected, bi-sected again and over run by Empires and tyrants and dictators from other lands, it is Poles that have always come out the other side while these same Empires turn to dust around them. Once swallowed this proud Nation cannot be digested, and Empires now long gone stand as dust at Her feet.

Many towns across our Nation still celebrate memorials to the sons that fought in our Revolution, and the plaques and markers and cornerstones bearing those remembrances can still be found. They are there, memorials to the Revolution erected and many of those will feature a brave Pole on horseback, reared back on two legs to show that brave one died in battle for us.

I would prefer to have Poland run our ports, because they deserve that and will do a good job with much hard work to ensure our safety as their own. Whenever I hear outreach to 'new friends' I look to see that we have not handed much if anything to those that have stood by us since that time we proclaimed Nation. Where is the honor in America when we cannot extend the long hand of friendship and give due thanks to Poland for standing as a Free People ALONE? We could only contain Communism, it took the hearty hammer blows of workers in Poland to give direct lie to 'the worker's paradise'. We could not land those blows, but Poles could and DID. And freed their neighbors to do the same and bring down yet another mighty Empire that had swallowed Her and died in the digestion.

Through dark days those of Polish descent remembered Poland, and let them know our light of liberty still shone for them.

Perhaps, someday, America can prove that she is worthy of having such a friend... lest we become dust in hour dishonor, and Poland, again, stands alone and free.

[bthun]

Nicely said ajacksonian.

True friends are too few in this life. The same applies to the life of a nation. They should regularly, without fail, be shown appreciation and respect.

[Agnieszka O.]

There are 9/11 memorials in other towns in Poland as well. I don’t find it “strange” at all.
I speak fluent Polish and I do find Mr. Sparkle swearing in his last comment very offensive. That kind of language does not belong on this forum.