The day started ordinarily enough for me 13 years ago today. I was in my apartment in Columbus, Mississippi. Slowly getting up and moving and readying for work.

I was watching Judge Mathis, finished breakfast and headed in for my morning shower. When I was through, I headed back into the living room where I had left the TV on and saw that the second plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I cannot describe what I felt any other way than nothing. I felt nothing. Maybe I was numb. It felt like a dream and I don't think, at first, my mind believed it was really happening. This horrible atrocity was playing out on my television screen like a big budget Hollywood production and I was an avid moviegoer waiting for the good guy to swoop in and make it all better. In reality this was my United States and we were under attack.

I worked at a local classic rock radio station at the time and we ran news reports during the morning hours. I knew our news director and co-workers would probably know more about what's going on so I quickly got dressed and headed to the office.

The way our group of radio station was set up, when you walked in you faced a room surrounded by glass, our news room. On that morning, the news room was filled to capacity with DJs and account executives all crowded around a small television watching the news.

By this time the third plane had hit the Pentagon. I think I started to come to the realization of what was really happening. I had been in the Pentagon before when I was younger. I grew up and spent my summers just across the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia and had been to D.C. many times. I think for me, the enormity of what was going on had finally hit home.

We watched in amazement and started the discussion on how to cover this as a group of radio stations. It was at this time that I took a break and went to my office to set my bag down and boot up the computer at my desk.

I noticed the message light on my phone was blinking when I sat down. I dialed my voice mail and heard my father's voice saying, "Hey bud it's me. I just wanted to let you know I'm okay. The plane that hit the Pentagon went right over our heads and hit the trees next to us but we're fine. Call me when you can." Wow! Finally. This was a reality. We were under attack.

My father later said after watching both planes hit the World Trade Center, he headed out of his office to go to the main office and make sure his boss was watching. As he headed out the silence was interrupted by a loud roar that almost dropped him to his knees. He looked up just in time to see the silver under belly of a plane gazing the treetops next to him. Moments later he heard a gigantic boom and knew instantly it had hit the Pentagon.

Stephen J. Boitano/Getty Images
Stephen J. Boitano/Getty Images
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In the weeks that followed I felt more pride in my country than I had ever felt before. I believe this was the first time in my adult life that I remembered seeing my fellow Americans walk and work in unison. From my small town of Columbus, Mississippi to "Ground Zero" deep in the heart of New York City, we were one. We were solid. We were united.

Since then I've been back home a few times but in the Spring of 2012 I was able to go with my son on a field trip to our Nation's Capitol. It was then I got to visit the memorial at the Pentagon honoring the 184 men and women who died as victims in the building and on American Airlines Flight 77 on that fateful day.

Paul Richards/AFP/Getty Images
Paul Richards/AFP/Getty Images
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I was amazed at how much thought went into the memorial. 184 illuminated benches have been arranged according to the victim's ages. Each bench is engraved with the name of a victim. The benches representing the victims that were inside the Pentagon are arranged so those reading the names will face the Pentagon's south facade, where the plane hit; benches dedicated to victims aboard the plane are arranged so that those reading the engraved name will be facing skyward along the path the plane traveled.If more than one member of a family died during the attack, family names are listed in the reflecting pool under the bench, in addition to the separate benches that have been created for each individual.

A memorial also now stands at the former site of the World Trade Center and workers in Shanksville, Pennsylvania recently broke ground on the Flight 93 National Memorial, beginning construction on the 6,800-square-foot visitor center that will tell the story of Flight 93.

Andrew Burton/Getty Images
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
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September 11, 2001. A date unfortunately now burned into our mental landscape like the day President Kennedy was assassinated, the day Elvis died, the day we lost the crew of space shuttle Challenger and for residents of Tuscaloosa, the day in April when the tornado hit.

Are we stronger as a nation since 9/11? I think so. I think we've learned a lot about ourselves since that day. But it's not my job to say how you feel. What I can say is that I am a proud American. I hate the fact that it may have taken this dreadful day in 2001 to make me realize so much about my fellow man but it did.

The attacks resulted in the deaths of 2,977 people not including the hijackers. Today I say a small prayer for peace in the hearts of each family member of each of those 2,977 victim. YOU WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images
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