1 year ago
28
FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - For galore crossed the United States, 9/11 is simply a time to commemorate the lives mislaid during the attacks connected September 11, 2001; but for veterans similar Andrew Coughlan, the meaning of 9/11 goes beyond that.
Andrew Coughlan served successful the United States Army from 2002 to 2006. He was archetypal stationed successful Fort Drum, New York, and was deployed to Iraq from 2003 until 2004. He present serves arsenic the Central Valley's "Alumni Regional Director" with the Wounded Warrior Project.
Coughlan says helium vividly remembers September 11, 2001.
"I retrieve being a Tuesday morning. I'm sitting successful transgression justness class. It was an intro to transgression justness astatine the section assemblage college," Coughlan said.
"I retrieve sitting determination and 1 of the different teachers came and knocked connected the doorway and conscionable said 'Hey, everybody spell to the invited area.' I retrieve looking up and seeing everything make unrecorded connected the TV. It was it was decidedly life-changing for me."
Coughlan was a elder successful precocious schoolhouse astatine the time. His older member was serving successful the Air Force and Coughlan says 9/11 helped solidify his determination to travel successful his brother's footsteps.
Two years aboriginal exactly, Coughlan landed successful Baghdad connected September 11, 2003.
Coughlan says 9/11 is simply a time to retrieve those who mislaid their lives during the archetypal onslaught - but helium says it's arsenic important to retrieve the lives that were changed everlastingly pursuing that day.
"The events 23 years agone had a lasting interaction connected conscionable however we unrecorded beingness today," Coughlan said.
Coughlan says his deployment was "pretty easy, but for a fewer days." He says helium mislaid galore friends during his deployment and saw galore of them beryllium severely wounded.
"July 19, 2004, was decidedly 1 of the hardest days of my life," Coughlan said. "My squad person and 1 of my champion friends were killed."
On September 11, 2004, Coughlan came location from Iraq.
He says the time volition ever beryllium important for him and, arsenic with galore veterans, it tin bring backmost unpleasant memories. But Coughlan says it tin besides beryllium an accidental to retrieve the feeling of unity felt astir the federation successful the days pursuing the archetypal attack.
Coughlan says that sentiment is thing easy mislaid erstwhile radical speech astir 9/11.
"I ever deliberation backmost to what were those days instantly pursuing 9/11," Coughlan said. "It didn't substance what locomotion of beingness you are from, we were grieving together, but we bonded arsenic well."
