The Day That Changed Everything: Veterans Reflect on 9/11

"Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I'm on an airplane that's been hijacked. If things don't go well, and it's not looking good, I just want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to do good, go have good times.” – Brian Sweeney (United States Navy Veteran, Passenger Flight 175) 

23 years ago, Brian Sweeney called his wife, Julie Sweeney, from a seatback phone while aboard Flight 175, shortly before the plane struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center. 11 September 2024 marks the 23rd Anniversary of the fateful day when America was attacked on its home soil for the first time, resulting in the loss of almost 3,000 lives. 

What Bryan might not have realized in the moment is that his courageous last call would echo in the hearts and minds of his fellow Americans. We honor his fortitude through the stories of those who followed in his footsteps, and answered the call when America was attacked. 

Benjamin Bunn is the owner of Cigar City CrossFit in Tampa, FL and a long-time supporter of Team RWB.

BENJAMIN BUNN 

Benjamin Bunn, an Army Special Forces Veteran of both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, recounted the events of that day with a stark clarity, “I remember it vividly,” he began, his voice tinged with the weight of memory. “I was attending a local community college and was headed to my Algebra I class. I was dressed to the nines in my BDUs and black leather boots because I was part of the ROTC program.” 

He continued, “I remember being in a small cafe on campus grabbing my standard 20-ounce styrofoam cup of hot black coffee. A guy I had gone to high school with, who just so happened to be attending the same community college, approached me. I used to play chess with this kid. His last name was DeGraw, which loosely translates to ‘the Great One’ in Spanish.” He said, ‘Hey, did you hear that the Twin Towers just got hit with a plane?’” 

Bunn’s gaze drifted to the television where he noticed smoke steadily billowing from one of the towers. “I noticed people jumping out of the building. All classes were immediately canceled,” he recalled. “By the time I got my coffee and went to my Algebra class, the campus was a ghost town.” Ben arrived home at around 1030, just in time to see that the second tower had been struck and had collapsed. “I was incensed as most Americans were and due to the attack, I found myself caught up in the Global War On Terror for most of my young adult life.”

Alli Jones is a member of Team RWB Tampa. 

ALLI JONES

Alli Jones served 24 years in the United States Navy, most of that time was spent alongside Marines, as a Navy Corpsman. She recalled 11 September 2001 as a time of mass confusion in an attack that became uniquely personal. “I lived 12 blocks from the Capitol in D.C., and I worked at Pentagon City. That morning, around 0800 or so, my boss had been watching news channels and then we saw that the first plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. 

We were all trying to make sense of what just happened in New York. I remember thinking, ‘Was the pilot drunk? Was he tired? What's going on?’ And then I saw the second plane crash and I remember thinking, ‘Okay, this is not normal.’ And then about that time around 0900, we looked out our window and we saw a plane crash into the Pentagon. We saw the smoke coming up from the building, and we knew something wasn’t right.”

In the midst of overwhelming confusion, a sense of something profoundly unsettling loomed. “My boss had the foresight to say, ‘I don't know what's going on but I need everybody to just go home now. You'll be safer at home. Whatever this is, just go home now.’ And so I went home, and at the time I was married and my husband worked at the Labor Department, which was right next to the Capitol in D.C.. I was trying to get a hold of him but I couldn’t because all the phones were down.”

In what seemed like a miracle amidst the chaos, the principal of Alli’s daughter’s private school, situated just outside D.C., managed to reach her. “My daughter was about six at the time and the principal was calling all of the parents and saying, ‘We're not sure what's going on either, but we have your kids here and they're safe.’”

After the attacks, Jones said her military service became even more purposeful and a way to take the fight back to the enemy. “My husband was prior military as well. We were ready to fight and to help in whatever capacity was needed. I did get recalled for the next two years and my duty station was Bethesda Hospital in Maryland. All the active duty staff was called overseas, and all the reserve staff in that area was called to the hospital to help support the mission. 

We all knew whatever was going to happen was going to be massively important. I felt like there was no other place I wanted to be then, right there in that moment, because that's why we trained. You train as you're going to fight and you fight like you were trained. And that really came to light in the moment because none of us hesitated.”

Matt Winstel is a member of Team RWB Orlando.

MATT WINSTEL

On 11 September 2001, Matt Winstel was a sailor stationed aboard the USS Constellation. He described the events of that day, “At the time, I was working in the ship's personnel office. I remember walking into the office, and it felt like a normal morning—there hadn't been any commotion on the ship yet.

An announcement came over the ship’s internal communications system, indicating that ‘River City’ had been set. River City is the codename for the condition where all external communications from the ship are cut off, except for very high-level personnel. Whenever River City is set, it means something significant has happened.”

Winstel went on to describe the grim reality of the situation as fellow sailors aboard the aircraft carrier began to collectively realize what was happening. “The TVs started getting turned on around the ship, and it almost looked like a bad movie. As the reality began to sink in, it became clear that this was not a movie—these were real events unfolding.” 

It’s important to note that Matt’s service did not end after his 26 year career in the Navy. He is the Lead School Certifying Official at the Military and Veteran Success Center at the University of Central Florida. “As you can see, I still get really emotional when I talk about 9/11. We do a Stair Climb Challenge at UCF and we start off talking about the human toll and reeducate the new ROTC cadets and family members who show up.” 

Imagine the backdrop of UCF’s football stadium, the Bounce House, but the environment lacks its usual raucousness. There is a reverence hanging in the air, the tangible weight of that day felt as cadets and family members climb in unison. Winstel went on, “Most of the students weren’t even born when the World Trade Center fell. While we're doing the challenge, there's no music. There's no fanfare. It's inside the UCF Bounce House, the football stadium. I kind of do my own thing with my own rucksack. I get inside my own head so that I don't forget what those feelings were like on September 11th.”

Join us on 11 September 2024, as we climb to remember. 2,200 steps and a 40-pound ruck—that's the mission. We’ll climb in unity toward the greater goal of honoring those who made their last journey 23 years ago. Think you’ve got what it takes? Download the Team RWB app and take on the 9/11 Stair Climb.