Sgt. Conor Gerard O'Neill, 25 — Burke, Virginia I was

Sgt. Conor Gerard O'Neill, 25 — Burke, Virginia
I was in fifth grade. I live just 30 minutes outside of D.C. We got released from school for the day.
When my family got home and turned on the news, we saw the carnage of the Towers.
It took a while longer for it to actually set in how tragic it was. It wasn't until after I enlisted that I looked up stories and interviews of people who were actually there and I went to Ground Zero.
I work as a volunteer firefighter out in town. I got to participate in the honor guard when the steel came down for the Engine 343 memorial in honor of the firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The families of the firefighters who died drove down to see the memorial. That was what it was all about — to do a little bit for those people who lost so much. It was an honor being a part of it.
What I took away from the experience is that you can't take life for granted. After it all happened, people came together and rallied and rebuilt. It's in the bad times when you find out who your friends are.
Even through tragedy we can pull each other out of it.