9/11: “Don’t Forget What Happened 10 Years Ago”

When Glenn Smith heard of the destruction that began on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, his first reaction was to bolt from his home and life in Connecticut, head overseas and fight.

“I was so mad and would have joined up and gone out overnight,” said Smith, 42, who has served in the military. “A lot of my buddies were going. I was chomping at the bit to go help. I felt as though I wasn’t doing my part by staying home.”

But the timing wasn’t right for Smith and his wife. They had a little baby girl and he had a new job as a police officer in town of Plainfield, CT. Today he is an officer for the town of Clinton.

“Part of the reason we had our second daughter in 2003 was due to 9/11,” said Smith. “My wife and I thought 'we could have been on one of those planes' and our first child would have been all alone.”

Smith, who joined the Air Force after graduating from Branford High School, served in active duty for four years. During Desert Storm, he served stateside at a top-secret base as part of the military police. After the Air Force, he became a member of the Military Air Force Reserve and Army National Guard.

In 2006, Smith was assigned to the 134th Military Police Company where he was deployed to Iraq. He spent a year in the city of Mosul where he helped train the Iraqi police.

He is now a member of the 143rd MP out of Hartford and just received orders that his next deployment may take place as early as 2012 to Afghanistan.

“Don’t forget what happened 10 years ago,” he said. “Don’t think we are safe because we haven’t had a big attack. We may take out Osama bin Laden but the recent deaths of the 30 Navy Seals is retaliation.”

Smith feels that some Americans may have let their memories of that day and the aftermath wane.

“9/11 opened up a Pandora’s box that may never close,” he said.