Richmond, Va. –
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation Public Affairs Office is running a week-long series Sept. 6-11 sharing the stories of DLA Aviation employees who remember where they were and what they were doing that fateful day.
Name: Preston “Drew” Warren
Organization: DLA Aviation, Richmond, Virginia
What is your job title, and what do you do, specifically? I’m a supervisory product specialist. My team of eight outstanding PSs ensure DLA purchases high quality and correct parts for the nation’s warfighters.
Please tell where you were and what you were doing on Sept. 11, 2001. I was a jet engine mechanic with the Virginia Air National Guard based in Sandston, Virginia. I was in the engine shop working on overhauling an F-16 jet engine when someone came out of the breakroom and said a plane just flew into the World Trade Center. We all thought that was crazy and how could a pilot do that on accident. When the second plane hit the towers, we knew it was no accident. The base immediately went into Force Protection Condition Level Delta, armed guards were stationed at every building, and we had six fighter jets at all times armed up and flying combat air patrols over Washington, D.C., and other major cities, including New York and Chicago. Our jets were also escorting Air Force One.
What can we do to ensure future generations never forget that fateful day? Continue to share our stories with them, have annual remembrance services as reminders of what happened that day and all the innocent lives lost.