written by Operation Healing Forces CEO Kerry Irvin
Twenty-five years ago, America was attacked.
What happened next revealed the character of our nation.
First responders ran into burning buildings and crash sites while others were fleeing to safety. Military members reported for duty, knowing they would soon be called to defend our country. Everyday Americans opened their homes, gave blood, raised flags, comforted strangers, and asked a simple question:
“How can I help?”
Across the country, military recruiting stations filled with ordinary citizens ready to serve. They came from every background and every corner of America, united by a determination to defend their country and help ensure that a tragedy like 9/11 would never happen again on our soil.
Then, while the nation was still grieving, America’s Special Operations Forces went to work.
Within weeks, small teams of Green Berets, supported by the legendary Night Stalkers of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and working closely with members of our nation’s intelligence community, entered Afghanistan. They were among the first to answer the call, but they would not carry the mission alone.
In the years that followed, the full strength of America’s joint Special Operations community served across the globe. Operators, aviators, intelligence professionals, and the many military and civilian teammates who enabled their missions worked in unforgiving environments, alongside international partners, and against enemies determined to do our nation further harm.
Together with our nation’s conventional military forces, they carried the weight of a wounded country with them.
That response began more than two decades of relentless service by our nation’s Armed Forces. Warriors repeatedly deployed to the most dangerous places in the world. Spouses held families together through long absences and uncertain homecomings. Children grew up with missed birthdays and empty seats at the dinner table. Caregivers stepped forward when wounds, both visible and unseen, followed warriors home. Gold Star and surviving families carried sacrifices that can never be repaid.
At Operation Healing Forces, we have the privilege of standing beside these remarkable warriors and families. Their service reminds us that the consequences of 9/11 did not end when the smoke cleared, the wars changed, or the headlines moved on.
But September 11th is only part of what we must remember.
We must also remember September 12th.
We awoke wounded, but not broken.
Across the lines that too often divide us, Americans chose one another. We stood together and lived by an unwritten creed: Put country before division. Serve one another. Run toward those who need help.
That creed was embodied by our first responders. It was carried overseas by our Armed Forces and intelligence professionals. And it continues to live in the veterans, military families, caregivers, nonprofit professionals, volunteers, and everyday citizens who still choose service over self.
We cannot undo the tragedy of September 11th.
But we can choose to carry forward the unity, courage, compassion, and shared purpose America showed on September 12th.
On this 25th anniversary, let us honor those we lost by remembering not only the depth of our nation’s suffering, but the strength of its response.
May we never forget.
May we never stop serving one another.
And may we never lose faith in what is possible when America stands together.
Kerry Irvin
Chief Executive Officer
Operation Healing Forces
