911 REMBRANCE LT. HEATHER ''LUCKY'' PENNEY

As we approach the 10th anniversary of 911, more instances of courage come to light. We all know of the courage of the passengers of flight 93 not willing to die like sheep but as warriors. Until yesterday most of us did not know of LT. Heather "Lucky" Penney a female F-16 fighter pilot based near Washington D.C. Two fueled but unarmed F-16s were on the tarmac, one of them hers. Ordered into the air without time to arm to find and destroy Flight 93 which had just turned around and was heading back to D.C. to probably crash into the White House. She immediately took off to find it and try to bring it down by crashing her plane into it and taking her life but preserving hundreds of civilians in 93's intendend target area. We may be fixated on the finer things of life, but we are not a paper tiger and whatever softness we may have is shed when the uniform is put on. God bless all our troops and thank you now Major Penney. You may be "Lucky" but this nation is also lucky to have you on our side.

LUCKY PENNEY
Sadly, history has a way of repeating itself as lessons learned soon fade
Just look back to that December peaceful day shattered by a surprise raid
Ships at rest at anchor, guns capped and ammo under lock and key
The Rising Suns lifting off the decks more than 200 miles away at sea
To in complete surprise to dive down to strafe, bomb and sink
Leaving thousands dead and wounded along with our innocence in a short blink
As the torpedoes exploded and the ships rocked in flames and shook
An unlikely hero, blazing down Zeros, Dorie Miller trained only as a cook
As so on this 911 reflection day it should come as no surprise
That lessons learned on that day faded into demise
Three planes had hit and 93 was believed to be inbound
No fighters in the air only two F-16s fueled and on the ground
No time to arm, only to launch and 93 to find and destroy
Even if your own plane is the only weapon you can employ
We have known our civilians in the past are viewed as soft but in uniforms turned into steel
Ready to face any danger and harm any enemy can seek to deal
Add females to that mix especially those with blonde hair and Colgate grin
Heather “Lucky” Penney a new Kamikaze flying out determined to win
Not afraid to die only afraid to screw the mission up and fail
Ready to bring 93 down by crashing into the cockpit or tail
And add to the list lest the forces of terror are too prone to forget
The passengers of 93 whose sacrifice 93’s plans to crash into DC were upset
© September 10, 2011 Michael P. Ridley aka The Alaskanpoet