We’ve seen the footage of 9/11 where injured people are clearing the area while long lines of rescuers head into the carnage. But those folks departing are often helping the injured or the fearful, even as the grim firefighters trudge toward their fate, utterly unwilling to allow those trapped in the towers to be lost without a fight.
The Americans on Flight 93 didn’t wait for rescue. They knew what lay ahead and chose death on their feet fighting to save others on the ground over cowering in their seats.
The Americans who ran toward the wounded on Patriot’s Day in Boston showed courage not just because they willingly faced the bloody slaughter of an anti-personnel IED but because, as everyone knows, terrorists delight in planting follow-on devices to kill those coming to the aid of the original victims. Watching video of the Massachusetts Army National Guardsmen ripping through the metal barrier to use their combat lifesaver skills on the wounded, you could see the right shoulder insignia one wore. It was a “Screaming Eagle” 101st Airborne “combat patch,” earned in action in Iraq or Afghanistan – maybe both. That American warrior knew exactly what the risks were, and he didn’t hesitate.
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