As many of you know, Don is a 20-year veteran of the United
States Air Force. The last eleven years
of that time period, he was stationed in Washington, D.C., working for the
White House Communications Agency (WHCA).
He did many things in that position, including being responsible for the
“Red Phone” in the White House (which actually isn’t red!), working on advance
teams for Presidential and Vice-Presidential trips, and was even responsible
for communication systems in the Presidential limousine.
I tell you these things not to brag (although I am EXTREMELY
proud of him), but to give you some idea of his depth of knowledge and
involvement in government at that time.
There are things that he has done and things he knows that I will never
know. Even a wife comes after duty to
those truly committed to serving our country.
On September 11, 2001, Don was at his daily-use office in a
location away from the White House. He
had meetings scheduled at the White House and was preparing to leave when the
first information came in about the World Trade Center strike. The men and women he worked with immediately
began watching the news reports and listening to the Intel coming across
various systems.
As time passed, and the confirmation of a true terrorist
attack was given, the members of his team realized that they, too – stationed
in the Nation’s capital – were also possible targets. Information was coming in fast and furious
about a rumored White House attack.
Fighter jets were deployed to intercept any plane heading in that
direction. Don and his co-workers
stepped outside to watch the world as we knew it change forever.
As we all now know, the White House was spared that day,
most likely due to the heroic acts of those men and women on flight 93. We also know that the Pentagon was not so
lucky, and many of the same people that we count on to protect our lives did
indeed lose theirs. Don had many friends
who worked at the Pentagon. Thankfully,
none were lost on that day.
Many came close: the wife of one friend was close enough to
find shrapnel from the airplane embedded in her backpack, which was the only
thing between her and certain death. Others
had equally horrifying stories. Some
were simple nuisances, such as the hours it took to get home to loved ones in
the chaos of a city under attack. But
all were important in their own way.
Everyone had a story. Everyone
shared a small part in that terrible, horrible day.
Don received many blessings that day. If he had already gotten to the White House,
he would have been on lockdown for many days, along with the others there. If he had been at the Pentagon, he might
possibly have been in the section destroyed that day. If he had been traveling with the President,
he would have crisscrossed the country as our military and Secret Service did
their jobs and protected our President.
But none of those things happened.
He was blessed.
And because he was blessed, so was I. We met nine months after 9/11. I didn’t hear all of his memories of that day
right away. These things are hard to
talk about. Even for those of us who
were nowhere near the tragedies, it is hard to speak of that day without our
hearts hurting. But I can say one thing
with the utmost certainty and with every fiber of my being: I am proud of my
husband. Not just for surviving that
day, or for what he accomplished for our country, or for serving proudly in
Desert Storm. I’m proud of the man he
is: loyal to his country; dedicated to his family; and faithful to his
God. I am the luckiest woman in the
world.
Master Sgt. Don E. Williams (Ret.)
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