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STORIES

Steven Crawford

Veteran

Steven Crawford
MY connection to 9/11

  • I was serving in the military on 9/11

Where were you when you first heard about or saw the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

I served in the Navy Reserves. I was commuting to work to my civilian job when I realized my favorite station wasn’t playing music. Moments later they reported that a 2nd plane hit the Towers. I was unaware of the 1st impact. They had TV sets at my employer and I was able to see the live broadcast as the Towers collapsed. I stood there in shock and my first word to my coworker was “we are going to war ... with somebody.”

How did the events of that day shape your life and inspire your service to this country?

As a reservist, we were not activated until just before the Iraqi War started: Iraqi Freedom & Enduring Freedom. About 35 of us from a group of 50 were sent active to an ammunition supply ship that served in the Pacific that served as an under way replenishment & supply station to ships as they headed to the Gulf - nine months with average of one million pounds of explosive on board at any given time. Wasn’t combat, but very stressful. One way that it shaped my life was in the civilian employment. The company that I worked for was sold while I was gone. I got a severance check but had no job waiting for me. They sold the technical right to someone and closed their operations. I could not find another job like it and my career path has been drastically different ever since. It was two major changes that really changed the path of my life. I earned a few awards and accommodation letters. I took courses, learned a lot, and had my perspective on life changed in several ways. The tragedy of it all was not as big a deal the trajectory change it caused in my life!

What are you excited to contribute to your community, however you define it, for the next 20 years?

Now that I have retired (2017) from the Navy, my wife, daughter, and I are active in our church and a few non-profit organizations for service to the public and the environment.

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