Luke members share memories of 9/11 on radio

  • Published
  • By Barbara Plante
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  This great nation was forever changed on Sept. 11, 2001. Most remember that day as a strange and surreal day that they'll never forget.

On that fateful day, under the direction of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial jet airliners and consciously crashed them into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board the flights and thousands of those working in the buildings.

A third airliner crashed into the Pentagon. Hijackers had redirected the fourth plane toward Washington, D.C.; however, it crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake control of the airliner, killing all on board.

These events shook America to her very core. As we mark the 10th anniversary of these life changing events, that day remains clear and vivid in most Americans' minds.

Several members of team Luke were provided the opportunity to share their personal stories with the public during an interview with KKNT News Talk Radio 960 AM on the Winning at Life with Phillis Sax Pilvinis program.

Maj. Zachary Warakomksi, 56th Communications Squadron commander, was at the Pentagon on that day.

"I was working war planning and mobilization. We had all seen the news and the towers being struck," he said.

Being just 125 yards from where the plane struck the Pentagon he felt the building shake and rumble and knew immediately something bad had happened. "My initial emotion was thinking our lives are forever changed," he added. Immediately they set up Crisis Actions Teams and went to work.

"The next morning coming to work, I very vividly remember seeing the Pentagon still ablaze," Warakomoski said. "When I got to work we went into the basement and starting working plans to mobilize the Guard and Reserve which kicked off Operation Enduring Freedom."

Staff Sgt. Keith Nuzzi, 56th Component Maintenance Squadron, was not even in the Air Force in 2011. He was a proud New Yorker working for an air conditioning company in Queens, N.Y.

"I was working on the roof of a building about 15 miles from the towers," he said. "We could see smoke, which was strange, and then we saw the second plane fly into the towers."

His mother worked very close to ground zero so he left and went home to find out if she was okay; on the way he heard the towers had fallen. "I can clearly remember her walking in the door covered in ash and my being so relieved."

"I had friends who worked at the towers who didn't make it out," Nuzzi said. "I went to the city and handed out water and gave blood, but as a New Yorker and American, I took it very personally and I wanted to do more."

Ten days after the event, he went to a recruiter and joined the Air Force.

"I am where I am now because of those events," he said. "When I deployed I felt privileged and proud to support the mission."

Since 9/11 more than two million military members have served in war zones, deploying more than 2.5 million times. Sixty-two hundred Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq. The 9/11 generation is all volunteers who chose to serve in a time of war. They have upheld the virtues of service, sacrifice and selflessness that have always been the source of America's strength.

Tobie Somers is currently an ASU student, mother of two and wife to Staff Sgt. Christopher Somers, 56th Operations Support Group. She was working as a Petty Officer 3rd class on 9/11 at the Pentagon in Naval Operations Telecommunications as a system technician. Their section has had just been relocated in the newly renovated west wing of the Pentagon. This was the very same area of the Pentagon that terrorists crashed a Boeing 757 at 9:40 a.m. that day.

"I had just gotten back to the barracks and gone to sleep after a mid-shift," she said. "A friend called to see if I was okay and told me what had happened. I looked out my window and didn't believe what I was seeing. I thought it was some kind of joke."

Somers had volunteered and trained to be a security forces augmentee working with the Marines.

"I was immediately called to support that mission," Somers said. "There were steps in place in case of an emergency, and we went into action. No one ever dreamed this would take place in the U.S. I personally lost seven co-workers and two really close friends that day. I hope Americans don't forget the great lives that were lost."

To this day, she and many of her former co-workers talk at least once a year to tell stories and reminisce about those they lost.

America's legacy is a proud and noble one; we need to remember the stories like these and teach others about the sacrifices that have been made on our behalf so that we might continue to enjoy the liberties and freedoms granted to us in our Constitution.

To hear the full broadcast, tune into KKNT News Talk Radio 960 AM Sept. 11. The show will air 11 a.m. to noon.