Pentagon, Flight 93 should not be overshadowed

I knew someone there.

I wasn't alone.

I knew someone who was running for her life, just like so many other people did last September.

That's what makes the attack so devastating. I can say, "I knew someone there," and the person next to me will likely say, "So did I," no matter where I am in this country.

There's nothing unique about the fact that I knew someone there.

But there is something unique about saying "I knew someone at the Pentagon." There is also something unique about saying, "I knew someone on Flight 93."

It's unique because when we think of Sept. 11, we think of two tall towers.

And as well we should. The devastation at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania combined did not equal the devastation in New York City. I cannot comprehend the amount of people who died in the World Trade Center.

But there is something that can be just a little disheartening about the fact that the Pentagon and Pennsylvania flight are overshadowed so much by the World Trade Center.

That's another thing that makes Sept. 11 so devastating. One hundred and twenty-five people can die in a key government building, and it nears footnote status. Only something as horrible as the World Trade Center disaster could make us forget such an event.

My cousin was in the Pentagon, where she worked until her retirement earlier this year. It wasn't until the afternoon that I could manage to even make a phone call reach Washington, D.C. She assured me she was fine and, knowing I worked for a newspaper, began telling me everything she could.

How lucky I am that my family wasn't touched by the same tragedy that affected so many others.

I visited Washington, D.C. last spring and had lunch with my cousin. We spent the majority of that meal discussing the attack.

She told me her staff was afraid to go to the memorial one month later. They were too afraid of being attacked once again.

She told me about a fly-over that occurred above the Pentagon soon after the attack. A girl in her office panicked. She broke down, thinking it was all happening again.

They were lucky they weren't in New York, but they will still be haunted for the rest of their lives.

Sept. 11 hurt us all. Those who died in the World Trade Center were the most obvious victims, and we should all keep them in our thoughts or prayers.

But as you are reflecting, remembering, thinking or praying today, on the first Sept. 11 since the date became so important to us, remember not just two tall towers, remember the Pentagon. Remember Flight 93.

And remember America. We all felt the impact, from sea to shining sea.