Black Hall of smoke rising and then just all hell breaks loose.

His kids screaming and I grabbed this little girl and I'm holding her in my arms like it's

going to be okay. The explosion like sucked the air right out of my lungs.

I didn't even realize that she had lost her leg, basically below the knee.

I just remember like waking up on this couch and blinking my eyes open and I mean I just had like this earth-shattering

headache and sat up and like world was spinning and I'm like looking around and

you know I'm staggering over to the

television set half awake current it on just in time to see an airplane crash

into the World Trade Center. I remember exactly where I was what what I was doing, what I was wearing, like what classes I had that day, and I experienced this range of different emotions, oscillating back and forth between fear and righteous indignation and anger.

You know, I remember thinking what my mom used to tell me

in, you know, two most important days of your life

or the day that you're born and the day that you're

figure out why.

And someday, Sean, you'll figure out like what you're intended to do what path

you're supposed to walk just keep trying to do the right thing for the right reasons

I was really lucky to come from a household with two great parents. I just believed that I knew exactly why God had put me on this earth and that was to serve this country and I wanted to be a part of America's collective response.

You know, I wanted to get in the fight right away.

I mean, I wanted to join the infantry because I wanted to be on the front lines.

And then I ended up like going home and talk to my parents about it.

My dad and I got in this huge knock-down dragout argument

because my dad was a Naval Academy guy.

He's like, wait a second, no.

...