I joined the Army in March 2003 as a tribute to my brother-in-law, Christopher Santora who was a member of the New York City Fire Department. He was 23 years old and had only six months on the job. When they got the call about the World Trade Center, he chose to go with his "brothers" when he could have simply left and gone home to get some rest.

It was the end of his 24-hour duty. My wife and her family have gone through hell. We are all doing things to keep his name alive. I even named our son after him. My sister-in-law and her husband also joined the Army. We are all very proud Americans.

After 7 years of service, I received a medical discharge from the Army after the first Gulf War in 1991. I continued to serve my community as a police officer, a parole agent and Academy insrtuctor. I was satisfied that I was doing everything I could to defend the freedoms I hold so dear, all that changed after Sept 11 and the War in Iraq. I sat down with my wife and children to discuss what was happening and what we could do to help, and begain the process that has brought me here today.

I applied for a medical waiver to join the Army National Guard

and transfered from Illinois to Arkansas to come to Iraq. I left a comfortable nine to five life, my wife and children to be here with the men and women who make such a life possible. I miss my family and they miss me, but we made the decision together and we all know what's at stake, I wouldn't be anywhere else in the world than right here, on the front line in the war on terror. I'm glad the Army Guard gave me a chance to once again serve. I am so proud of the young men I serve with. After being gone for 13 years, they have helped me to remember what the Army family was all about!

I left the Active Army in June 1998. The next 4 years, I lived a great life working for Dell Computer. I couldn't have asked for anything more. But something inside me wasn't right. I compared my job at Dell with that as an officer in the U.S. Army. My responsibilities at Dell just didn't compare to that of an Army officer. I wasn’t making a difference in the world.

After September 11th, I realized I wasn't an employee of Dell Computer that had served in the Army. I was a soldier, employed by Dell Computer. In January of 2003, I returned to Active Duty as the Commander of B Company, 307th Signal Battalion.

On September 11, 2001, I watched the events of that horriffic day unfold, knowing that I was going to enlist in the Army. If ever there was a time for it, it was now. Un fortunately, later on that same day I was injured in an unrelated incident, and due to the nature of my wound, I was not allowed to join for one year. On September 11, 2002, I was at the Military

Entrance Processing Station.

I've now been in for two years. I haven't gone overseas yet but I am convinced that it will happen before long. And when it does, I will go and serve proudly.

I got out of the Army National Guard in 1994 after being hired by a local City police department. I had been mobilized for Desert Storm and went to Saudi Arabia and my new bride didn't want me to chance getting mobilized again. So, I got out.

Almost 8 years later, on 9/11, a former co-worker of mine was killed at the World Trade Center helping others. This affected me to the extent I felt I had to re-enlist, going back to

my old Military Police unit I'd gone to Desert Storm with. Soon after, I was mobilized again, this time for Iraqi Freedom. After 15 months on active duty, 12 in Iraq, we came home in April, 2004. The personal cost has been devastating, mainly the end of my marriage, but the experience was worth it and I would do it again to defend my home and family. It was a privilege to fight for the freedoms most take for granted. God Bless America and our Commander-in-Chief.

My grandmother once told me that I can do anything I set my heart too including (joining) the ARMY.

The ARMY was a big decision for me. My enlistment date was Sept 11th 2001. I, as many others sat in the Military Entrance Processing Station watching the horror unfold on TV wondering how we could make the biggest decision of our lives. To raise our hand and become a soldier, sailor, Marine, or airman. I remember looking around that room and seeing the fear, the anger and the disbelief on so many peoples faces. I remember the statement from the MEPS processing personnel the most. It was 'You're not required to continue on. We will not look at you as wrong for turning and walking away right now.' I am happy to know that not one person that day turned their back on this country and enlisted that day.

I was assigned to the 1st Armored Division's Support Command and we received orders to deploy to Iraq. The months till the deployment were long and hard but went by quickly. Soon we were on the 'field exercise' of a lifetime. We

were camped out at Logistics Support Area Dogwood, which seemed like mortar capital of the world. I really learned what it was to be a soldier and a friend out there. You realize how close you have become when you are huddled together in a bunker during a mortar attack.

It was a real culture shock when I got to Iraq. The poverty and pain you see there on the children's faces is something I never want to see again but then will never forget. I was glad to have served my country in Iraq as well for the people I worked with.

I want to say thank you to all the soldiers serving today and all the veterans of the past, for we make a difference. A big "thank you" and "I'll never forget you" to all those who served with me in Iraq and to all our families back home. You kept me strong and kept me laughing. We all fought the good fight for 13 months and I thank God above for bringing the 1AD home!!!

Hooah!!!

In the wake of the horrific actions on Sept. 11, 2001 , I had many mixed emotions about what was going to happen and what I could or would do about it in my own ways. After many months of deliberation and going back and forth, I decided to join the Army.

So I did as so many others have done before me, and joined the ranks of the strongest and proudest army in the world. I did this not to prove something to anyone, but to give something of mine back to my nation, my family and friends, and to those I do not even know or will ever know.

I was stationed in Germany for the better part of two years, and my unit deployed to Iraq last February. Although deployments are not fun, and I was not exactly excited about the conditions I would face, I was looking forward to the opportunity that maybe I could make a difference.

Whether what I have done has made a difference or not, I will probably never know, but it has made a difference in me.

It has opened my eyes to what parts of the world have dealt with their entire lives. We are helping these people in the wake of a tyrant leader, as well as helping our country. Helping to eliminate terrorists is a commitment we have all made that will help ensure peace worldwide. It is something that we are all committed to, and is the right thing to do.

I am so thankful of the support that all of the troops, deployed and not deployed, get from our country every single day. Support from our nation is just as important as supporting our nation. So to you, I am forever grateful, and I serve America with pride and honor.

I joined the Army at the age of 44. I was a civilian nurse with 16 years of experience in the private sector. I had a comfortable home and good paying job working at the beautiful new Veterans Administration hospital in Baltimore , across from the University of Maryland Hospital, where I had earned my nursing degree as well as experience in the Operating and Emergency Rooms.

I felt very proud to be working with our veterans at the time of the events of Sept 11. Their stories, courage and pride in serving their country in their generation's time of crisis inspired me to investigate the possibility of joining the "reserves." (To my surprise, the cut off age for nurses was 47.)

In a state of patriotic fervor, I, along with three of my friends, began checking into the military.

I ended up being the only one to join, and even ended up going "ACTIVE."

In June of 2002, I was making my way to Fort Sam Houston for Officer's Basic Course. I remember being on an old Army bus along with other medical personnel heading back from Camp Bullis fresh from our field training exercise on the first anniversary of Sept 11. I looked out at the sparse Texas landscape in the middle of the summer heat and thought, "What did I get my self into?"

But my very next thought, grinning to myself, was how proud of me my VA patients would be. I would be able to say to them, when I returned, that I too had served my country in its time of need. Sitting here writing this from the ER of the 67th Combat Support Hospital in Tikrit, Iraq., I would also be able to tell them that I didn't regret it for a minute.

I had served for a little over six years in the U.S. Air Force from Jan. 1988 to Sept. 1994. I was part of President Clinton’s reduction in force policy in the mid 90's.

I was a firefighter and enjoyed every minute of it. My family and I were living in Iowa at the time of the attacks. I was adapting to civilian life pretty well and things were going OK for my family.

I woke up the morning of the attacks in a good mood. Fall was coming in Iowa and it was a beautiful sunny day. My daughter had just brought me my morning coffee and I turned the TV on. As I was bringing the cup of coffee to my mouth, the first thing I saw was the second plane slam into Tower #2. I dropped my coffee cup and stared at the TV for the rest of the day. My wife called from her work and was in shock.

After it was discovered that terrorists from the Middle East … had done this. I knew I was going to join again. This time, however, my thoughts were leading me to the Army. After a couple of days of not saying anything, my wife said, "If you want to join again, I will back you up"

I joined the Army as a combat medic and reported to Fort Benning, Ga., for basic training in Nov. 2001. I wanted to be with the Americas best -- the young men and women who were no doubt going to Iraq. I knew we were going just because I remember the Gulf War and that there was unfinished business.

I received my orders while at Advanced Individual Training to go to Fort Polk, La. I reported in July 2002, did some training and then in March 2003 we received our orders. On April 3, I deployed to Iraq and spent 368 fighting the war on terror and removing Saddam Hussein from power.

I will be reenlisting in a couple of weeks and I will be an E-5 this month. I love serving my country and as a 36 year old I would not be doing my duty as a veteran not to help train these young soldiers on what to expect. God bless America.

I grew up outside of Oklahoma City, Okla. I was in town the day of the Murrah Federal building bombing. I was home from work the day the Twin Towers came down, glued to the TV, confused at first, then enraged.

I've always had a keen sense of justice ever since I was little, and I have supported our right as a country to be free in as many ways as I can, including becoming a life-time National Rifle Association member although I never hunt, and rarely handle guns. I vote at every opportunity.

Joining the Air Force seemed the logical next step in my personal fight to protect those I love. I had grown up hearing about the war in Israel, the constant fear they lived in. I was overwhelmed with the thought of that type of lifestyle becoming a daily acceptance in this great land and for my future children.

So I headed off to boot camp, not knowing what job they would give me, happy to help in anyway I could. I was a late enlistee, barely making it under the restrictive age of 28 for an active duty person. I was given a job in intelligence, not my first choice, but important to the war effort. I arrived fresh out of technical school at Langley in the midst of the Iraqi war.

By this time, my brother in the Army had been sent to Iraq. I spent many hours on the phone with my parents calming their fears, assuring them against the newscasts and reports.

My brother is now home safe while the effort continues worldwide. I am part of a team involved with creating a safer environment for Air Force bases worldwide as well as being aware of possible terrorist activities.

While I may not be in the midst of the fray, I understand the importance of my job and how I am fighting daily to make America and her people safer, to protect our call to freedom and do my level best to set up the future for success in all areas.

I wouldn't have described myself as patriotic before, but through my decision I find I love my country more than I ever thought possible. And I understand the value of my freedom.

On Sept. 11, 2001 , I decided to join the U.S. Air Force. On Aug. 13, 2002, I left for Basic Military Training. A year and a half later, I found myself on Bagram Air Base, Afganistan, where I was deployed for four and a half months. Right before I was to leave, I stepped on a land mine and had my left leg blown off, on March 13, 2004 .

Today, I was told that my medical board met and I am returned to duty without any restrictions. So I am now leaving Walter Reed Army Medical Center, to go to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and start my military career again. I plan on going back to Afghanistan in the near future and to do what I came in to do.

Two years before the attack I was in the Individual Ready Reserve awaiting the end of my eight-year commitment so I could resign my commission due to a service-connected disability.

After the 9-11 attack, I immediately volunteered for activation and proceeded to join an Individual Augment Unit. I again volunteered for duty in Iraq in July 2003 to replace a fellow reserve soldier who was having a baby and had already been activated for close to two years.

I was attached to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Baghdad where I served as a base camp construction officer

and helped the 1st Armored Division Engineer Base Planning Cell. (Mind you I am a field artillery officer by training, but I am a project manager for a construction company in my civilian life.)

I was offered the chance to stay with the unit after my six-month rotation, but due to my existing knee injury -- I've been receiving a disability since summer 2001 -- I was forced to return. I have since joined a training unit out of Grand Prairie, Texas, where I get to pass along my experience to deploying Reserve and National Guard soldiers.

I finally made it back into uniform Feb. 1, 2002 , after several months of physical review and a waiver for a hearing loss. I had served five years in the U.S. Air Force from September 1974 to September 1979.

After 9-11, I knew in my heart it was something I had to do.

With the support of my local congressman and his staff, I was able to become a member of the U.S. Army Reserve and train to be a heavy equipment operator knowing we would be deployed to points unknown.

I have three older brothers, all Vietnam Veterans, all honorably discharged and proud contributing Americans. They are extremely supportive of me and worry perhaps too much.

Their largest worry is that I'll be 50 years old my next birthday and the physical demands will be my end. It is a physically demanding situation at times, but as a team we always get through.

My parents were proud Americans. We were raised to believe that it isn't always someone else's problem, and that as a united people focused on a common goal, we are unstoppable. My father served in several campaigns of WWII including the Battle of The Bulge. My mother helped assemble P40 and C47 aircraft for Curtis Wright in Buffalo , NY.

My oldest son Matthew joined the Army Reserve in June 2001 and received an Army Commendation for the best score ever in his MOS Training Course. He is currently assigned to the 31st Combat Support Hospital in the Baghdad Green Zone.

Matthew and I have had several chances to share a meal or a couple hours as he and fellow soldiers often convoy to Camp Victory North to pick up supplies. He is a light machine gunner for their convoys. It is an awkward moment for me to watch my son prepare himself and his weapons for the return trip.

I am extremely proud of him and all the American sons and daughters that put aside the things of youth to claim a place in the free world as citizens willing to defend it to our deaths if need be.

I enlisted in the Army for the first time in 1997. Two years into my enlistment, I became a divorced single mother and opted to get out of the Army.

On September 11, I was horrified along with the rest of our nation. I wanted to do more than hang a flag in my window. My family life had changed since my first enlistment. I had married an Army veteran. My husband supported my decision to reenlist.

November 2001, I contacted a local recruiter and I wanted to know if I could reenlist for the same job I had previously, a medic. I knew our nation would need to take an aggressive

stance to deter terrorism. I knew it would mean boots on the ground. I did not want to sit on the sidelines.

The last time we went up against Iraq , we did not finish the job and 10 years later we needed to return and finish what we had started. My son had just turned nine years old and I did not want him to have to deal with this problem a decade from now. I reenlisted April 10, 2002 .

In 2003, I deployed to Iraq for several months. Reenlisting in the Army was a great decision for my family and I. I got out of the Army to provide a future for my son and it is the reason why I reenlisted a few years later.

I was visiting New Hampshire on 9/11/2001. Stranded there by the airspace closure, I rented a car and set out to drive 18 hours back to Atlanta. My trip down I-95 took me past the still-smoking ruins of the World Trade Center and through Washington, DC.

It was obvious that America would respond to those attacks, and that that response would require some of her citizens to make personal sacrifices, and that the majority of the burden would fall on young people who had yet to realize many of the benefits of being an American.

I thought about the countless blessings and opportunities that had accrued to me over the years simply because I was fortunate enough to be born here.

I thought about how I had realized nearly every one of my life's dreams and ambitions. I thought about how I had given virtually nothing in return.

Somewhere on that trip I decided I would volunteer. When I got home I discussed it with my wife. The next day I contacted the Army recruiting website. On September 6, 2002, at age 49, I received my commission as an officer in the Army Reserve Medical Corps (AOC 60N).

During Desert Storm, I was active duty Air Force and was in Saudi Arabia. At the time of the terrorists' attacks, I was a 36-year-old convenience store manager in Charlotte, N.C.

The store is one block from the Charlotte armory. My customers were the soldiers from the National Guard. When I left the store on September 11, 2001, I never had seen my community, my country so quiet and devastated.

The first time I went into the Air Force was for personal reasons: to help provide for my family.

This time I joined the Army National Guard because I believe that faith takes action and I wanted to do something more than sit at my house and write letters of support.

I am a Navy sailor who promptly joined after the September 11th incident, to serve our nation in the war against terrorism and in support of our president's call. However, I had to complete my basic training as a reservist before I could be considered for duty on actual war zone.

I took all the required training and courses normally to be completed in 36 months. By applying myself to what was my civic duty, I was able to complete all my training, and exceed in most cases, in less than eight months while I still had to comply with my civilian obligations. I now have proudly and honorably served my country as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

My name is SPC Mark A. Jensen, I am a member of an Army National Guard Unit, out of Tucson, Ariz. The tragedy of 9/11 left me, like so many others, in a state of disbelief, sadness, horror, and outrage. I knew from the initial news report that I could not sit idly by without getting back into the fight.

I was active duty Army from 1984-1987, serving as a military policeman. After being honorably discharged, I became a volunteer fireman in the Walker Fire Department, a small community in Western New York, until moving to Tucson in 1998. I had spent my life helping others, and now I knew I had to help our country.

I re-enlisted in the Arizona Army National Guard in October 2001. After two years of training, preparing to complete our mission when called upon, our unit was activated for mobilization on December 5, 2003. By February 2004 our unit was in Kuwait and soon after that, LSA Anaconda, Balad, Iraq.

Our unit of 27 members is the GSU for the entire base. Although I am not on the front line, the job I do here plays a vital role in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II and the men and women stationed here. I am honored to serve my country in the War On Terrorism, and even more honored to protect the freedoms we all enjoy in the United States.

Following the attack, even though I was 28 years old at the time, I wanted to join the army. I asked my Greek Orthodox priest, Father Michael Petrides, back home in Springfield, Ohio, about it that next Sunday (16 Sept 2001).

He said it was a good thing to want to join the Army in response to 9/11. The next day, Monday the 17th, I walked into the local Army recruiter's office and began writing my name on papers. I guess the rest is history.

I decided to join the Army after 9/11. I was 31 years old, married with two children and had a very well paying job. The emotions that welled up inside me were incredible. I wanted to do my part as an American to help get the people that were responsible.

I gave up many nice things to do what I am doing now. (It's been a) complete change of life, and I don't regret any of it, not for one moment.

I joined the United States Navy Reserves December 10, 2001 , in order to serve my country and do my part to fight back against the recent terrorist attack of 9-11. I joined the Naval Reserve Accession Course program and was attached to Construction Battalion Center Augment Unit (Seabees) in Port Hueneme , Calif.

Upon completion of my requirements for the program I joined my unit. During this time, with my unit I volunteered over 120 hours of additional duty on my off weekend to teach the NPSAC program that I had been a part of. On February 4, 2003 , I was recalled to active duty with Naval Construction Force Support Unit Two, and shortly thereafter deployed to Kuwait and Iraq .

I was a member of the bridge crew who was responsible for all the pre- assembly and staging of the Mabey Johnson Bridges for the 1st MEG. As a result I earned a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. During this time I also volunteered for convoys going north to take various supplies and bridging materials to Camp Davisville , Iraq .

pon my return I again went back to teaching the Non Prior Service program and received another Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for this. I have just recently submitted a package to go to active duty in Point Mugu, Calif. , as a recruiter to go out and share my story with others and provide them the opportunity to change their lives. The Navy has been the best thing that I ever did!!

On Sept 11 2001 ,I decided to reenlist in the U.S. Army due to the newest crisis our country faced. At the time, I was a full time truck driver earning about $1,100 per week and totally free of any commitment to the U.S. Army.

I had ended all my obligations in November 1992 when I finished my second enlistment.