WEBVTT 00:03.940 --> 00:07.080 just started college . First year of it , 00:07.090 --> 00:09.570 and I just got home from a college 00:09.570 --> 00:11.710 class , so I have not seen the TV at 00:11.710 --> 00:13.950 all . Had the radio on . Just listen to 00:13.950 --> 00:16.172 music on the way home , and I walked in 00:16.172 --> 00:18.283 the door and flopped in the chair and 00:18.283 --> 00:20.561 turn the TV on every channel I turn to . 00:20.561 --> 00:22.728 I was like , What is this ? You know , 00:22.728 --> 00:24.839 CNN and the news . I'm like , What is 00:24.839 --> 00:24.230 this stuff ? And I start to pay 00:24.230 --> 00:26.680 attention to what it really was . And I 00:26.680 --> 00:28.569 was like , Wait a minute , that's 00:28.569 --> 00:30.680 that's like three hours from here and 00:30.680 --> 00:32.902 it kind of really started to dawn on me 00:32.902 --> 00:35.070 What was going on ? And I just sat 00:35.070 --> 00:37.237 there staring at the TV in amazement . 00:37.237 --> 00:39.403 When I first turned it on , I saw just 00:39.403 --> 00:41.626 a little bit of smoke coming from Tower 00:41.626 --> 00:43.870 one , and that was one of the many 00:43.870 --> 00:46.148 explosion that happened and , you know , 00:46.148 --> 00:48.203 it all became a big issue , and they 00:48.203 --> 00:50.426 were still talking about was accidental 00:50.426 --> 00:52.648 was a terrorist attack , you know ? Did 00:52.648 --> 00:54.426 you know what happened ? Was it 00:54.426 --> 00:56.426 explosives an airplane ? And that's 00:56.426 --> 00:59.130 when the second plane hit and you know , 00:59.130 --> 01:01.352 then they started to kind of switch and 01:01.352 --> 01:03.463 realized what was going on . And then 01:03.463 --> 01:05.560 the collapse happened . And I mean , 01:05.560 --> 01:08.810 it's just just a drain of emotions . I 01:08.810 --> 01:11.032 mean , I can't even explain the feeling 01:11.032 --> 01:13.143 just sitting there , watching the t v 01:13.143 --> 01:15.088 and thinking like , Is this really 01:15.088 --> 01:17.143 happening ? I mean , it's almost too 01:17.143 --> 01:19.330 hard to explain . It wasn't long after 01:19.330 --> 01:22.170 9 11 . I went to the recruiter and I 01:22.170 --> 01:23.892 said , You know , I want to do 01:23.892 --> 01:26.059 something . What do I have to do ? And 01:26.059 --> 01:28.226 he said , Oh , you sign right here and 01:28.226 --> 01:27.670 before I knew what I was off to boot 01:27.670 --> 01:29.781 camp . And , you know , that was like 01:29.781 --> 01:32.090 the big push that actually got me into 01:32.100 --> 01:34.220 the Marine Corps was something that 01:34.230 --> 01:36.563 happened so close to home and realizing , 01:36.563 --> 01:38.786 you know , I need to do to do something 01:38.786 --> 01:40.619 to help . I want to do my part . 01:40.619 --> 01:42.674 Everything that I've gone through to 01:42.674 --> 01:44.619 get where I'm at now . It's just a 01:44.619 --> 01:46.952 really good feeling knowing that I mean , 01:46.952 --> 01:49.174 there was a lot of hard work to do what 01:49.174 --> 01:51.397 we did , and you know , I mean , we had 01:51.397 --> 01:53.508 three losses from our unit directly . 01:53.508 --> 01:55.563 Once we got to al Assad at one point 01:55.563 --> 01:58.740 it's like and I d hear sniper here a 01:58.750 --> 02:00.960 firefight Can you can take a life 02:00.960 --> 02:03.250 really quick . So to look at the people 02:03.250 --> 02:05.472 that we did lose and , you know , the , 02:05.640 --> 02:08.090 you know , military wide Army , Navy , 02:08.090 --> 02:10.780 Marine Corps , Just total numbers . You 02:10.780 --> 02:13.002 know , four tours and I'm still sitting 02:13.002 --> 02:16.460 here . I feel pretty lucky . And , you 02:16.460 --> 02:18.682 know , it's just a good feeling to look 02:18.682 --> 02:20.793 back and think of everything that was 02:20.793 --> 02:23.016 accomplished . And , hey , I was a part 02:23.016 --> 02:25.238 of that . And it's you know , when 9 11 02:25.238 --> 02:27.404 happened , there was that feeling of , 02:27.404 --> 02:29.516 Oh , I want to do my part . And now I 02:29.516 --> 02:29.150 can actually sit down and say like , 02:29.540 --> 02:31.540 Wow , I did something to help , you 02:31.540 --> 02:33.762 know , I was I was there , So it's just 02:33.762 --> 02:34.660 something you never forget .