MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT/EASTERN RECRUITING REGION PARIS ISLAND, S.C. -- -- On Sept. 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767, departed Boston with 11 crewmembers and 81 passengers aboard. Mohamed Atta, Wail M. Alshehri, Waleed M. Alshehri and Satam M.A. Al Suqami, were four of the 81 passengers.
At 8:45 a.m., Flight 11 slammed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, creating the first four "martyrs" in Osama bin Laden's unholy war.
Drill Instructor Staff Sgt. Paul Davis, Kilo Co., 3rd RTBn., had just taken his recruits to direct deposit. As he made a quick stop at the Main Exchange, the events happening in Washington and New York were unfolding on the TV.
"Is this for real?" Davis asked himself. Davis, as well as the rest of the United States, was about to find out how real it was.
At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175, also from Boston, crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, killing all 65 people aboard and many more in the WTC.
Corporal James R. Hamilton, was returning from block leave in Pennsylvania to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to assume his role as a team leader with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Division on the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable). He listened to the newscasts about the attacks on the radio the entire trip down.
"I felt uneasy because I didn't know what the future would be," said Hamilton. "I knew there was a very good chance I'd be going [to war]."
At 9:43 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77, a Boeing 757, crashed into the Pentagon, in Arlington, Va. At 10:05, the South Tower, having been designed to withstand hurricanes but not burning jet fuel, collapsed. At 10:10 a.m., another United Airlines plane, Flight 93, crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pa. Just under 15 minutes later, the North Tower also collapsed. Many of the surrounding buildings had suffered major structural damage and were also in danger of collapsing. At the Pentagon, 125 service members, employees and contract workers perished. Though it wouldn't be known until months later, the total confirmed dead after the four attacks would be 2,929.
Here on the Depot, Davis had time to speak with his recruits about the day's tragedy. Though recruits are in a bubble from the outside world through most of recruit training, there was no keeping this kind of news away from them.
"I told them exactly what happened," said Davis. Though Davis' reaction was anger, the would-be Marines were apprehensive.
"They were worried about going to Afghanistan. A lot of people join the Marine Corps thinking they won't go to combat. I told them, 'This stuff's for real.'"
Davis, a grunt, was anxious for a piece of the action, but a tour on Parris Island as a drill instructor is three years. Angry and frustrated about not being able to join his comrades on the battlefield, Davis wasn't going anywhere.
Hamilton, however, was already on his way. Shortly after returning to Camp Lejeune, Hamilton found himself aboard the USS Whidbey Island, heading towards the Mediterranean Sea.
While crews were sorting through the debris and wreckage in New York and Washington, D.C., Hamilton and the rest of the 26th MEU (SOC) steamed from Moorehead City, N.C., into the Mediterranean. The 26th MEU (SOC) didn't go straight to Afghanistan. Instead, they participated first in Operation Bright Star, an international training exercise held in Egypt. The expectation for the coming fight was growing.
"A lot of Marines took [Bright Star] more seriously than normal, because they knew we could be in some action real soon," said Hamilton.
After Bright Star, the 26th MEU (SOC) continued to steam through the Suez Canal, through the Persian Gulf towards Pakistan. From Pakistan, the next stop would be terrorist central - Afghanistan.
When they arrived in Kandahar, Afghanistan, there were no amenities waiting for the Marines. No showers or hot meals, just Meals Ready to Eat.
Most of the days were spent rotating from guarding the perimeter of camp to guarding the growing number of Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners coming into Kandahar. The temptation to become complacent remained, but death had an uncommon way of focusing the mind.
"You're always on edge," said Hamilton. "You didn't know when someone would try to kill you."
A break in the monotony came when Hamilton's team was called on to watch for an al Qaeda convoy coming though.
With only their poncho liners for warmth, the Marines laid in wait through the night to ambush the convoy. The temperature dropped so low that the water in their canteens froze. Added to the misery, no one was allowed to speak or move.
The convoy never came.
By January, Hamilton's time in Afghanistan was coming to a close. The desire to do what they were trained for and the desire to see home again evoked conflicting feelings in the Marines.
"It was split," Hamilton said. "If we had gotten new supplies, it would have given us a second wind. We wanted to stay, but we ran out of socks! If they had given us socks, we would have wanted to go to Tora Bora."
The task of taking out Tora Bora would be left to others however, and the job of securing Kandahar was complete. By the time the 101st Airborne came to relieve the Marines in January, a barbershop and even a post exchange had already been established.
Hamilton had been in-country 44 days, and had spent Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years with the Marines of Kilo Company instead of his family. Hamilton was 22 years old.
One year later, the walls of the Pentagon have been repaired, and the Marines, sailors, soldiers and airmen are once again walking through its corridors. Though the goal for the reconstruction was to reoccupy the area by Sept. 11, 2002, the effort put out by workers beat that deadline by 28 days. The clean up at Ground Zero in New York is complete, and the only question that remains is how best to memorialize the site.
One year later, Davis is still training recruits in the gas chamber, at the rifle range and on the drill field. Though the recruits training on Sept. 11 are now in the operating and supporting establishment forces, Sept. 11 remains a source of motivation for Davis and to his current recruits.
"I focus on making the recruits understand that what they do now could save lives later," said Davis. "I sometimes remind them about Sept. 11 and then it clicks in their minds."
Though the thought of another attack lingers in Davis' mind, he remains focused on the job at hand.
"I still think about it, but I don't let it hinder me," said Davis. "You really have to be paying attention at all times. You can't live a life of 'Are they going to attack today?' If it happens, it happens. That doesn't mean you shut down."
As for Hamilton, he's now thousands of miles away from Kandahar. Instead of standing guard on the perimeter, he now works helping Marines working towards their degrees in the Depot Education Office. Instead of a frozen canteen, he can now drink from a water fountain down the hall or grab a soda from one of the drink machines. Though far away from the battle in Afghanistan, the pride of being a part of it remains.
"We were all pretty proud that we could be part of the action," said Hamilton. "It gave me a respect for what we have here in the U.S. It reminded me why we're the greatest nation in the world."
Hamilton is now safe, or as safe as one can be in a war without borders. Davis is still training recruits, and yearning for his chance to get a piece of the action. Both play pivotal roles in the War Against Terror. Without the drill instructor, there are no Marines. Without the Marine, there would be no Marine Corps. Parris Island will continue to make Marines, and Marines will continue to fight beyond the shores of Tripoli.