Ali Salem Air Base, Kuwait. (September 22, 2023): It has been twenty years since a badly shaken nation came together in a spirit of patriotism, sadness, and righteous anger at the cowardly attacks on 911. In this photo by Staff Sergeant Kevin Long, Airmen from the 386th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Battalion conduct a ruck march in honor of 911 victims and were later joined by comrades from Canda, Italy, and Denmark in a moment of silence in their memory. Although most of these young servicemembers were not born yet on that fateful day, their presence so far from home is a legacy of the 911 attacks.
Americans experienced such shock and rage that it drove patriotic sentiment sky high and Americans demanded a military response. According to the Pew Research Center, 62% of Americans say they felt more patriotic after the attacks and 79% said they had recently displayed the U.S. flag. Support for our armed forces also soared as 77% of Americans favored retaliation for those responsible for the terrorist attacks. America was united as never before.
Twenty years later, Airmen like these are stationed at far flung outposts around the world as a show of military strength to prevent future terrorist attacks.