Where were you? Around this time of the year, it’s a question that travels from person to person quite frequently, and I will be able to answer it for the rest of my life. I was in a third grade classroom when I first saw the image of a tower with smoke billowing out of it. My class continued to watch as the rest of the tragedy of 9/11 unfolded, which at that age, I found unimaginable. Just having a memory isn’t the only way that I have been affected by the terrorist attacks. I have been able to realize the importance of heroism in our nation, and I have helped remember those true heroes. I remember coming home after school and talking to my mother about watching the buildings collapse. She told me a story about a man that she knew, Lt. Cmdr. Eric Cranford, who had passed away in the Pentagon that day. Every anniversary of the event, I thought of Eric and his family, and I wanted to know more. I began to connect with Eric on a personal level. He had graduated from the same high school that I had attended, had lived in the same community as me, had attended the same Boy Scout troop as me, and had even graduated from N.C. State. Eric’s name meant more to me than that of a person who had passed away; he was a hero, and I knew I needed to show that he was. The choice to create a memorial to Eric as my Eagle Project (a project that allows you to complete the highest rank of Scouting) was one of the easiest choices I have ever made. Completing the project, however, was much harder. I would sit for hours designing a monument that I thought would suffice, only to end up scrapping it and coming up with a new idea. My intention was not to create something to symbolize the sacrifice Eric made for this country, because that would be impossible. My goal was to offer something that would allow the community to remember him and the others who passed away on 9/11. With a great deal of support from local businesses, friends, family members, and the community, the monument was completed. The walls were formed out of concrete in the shape of a pentagon to symbolize all of those who were taken on September 11. The center column was made to represent Eric. Sitting atop it is a bronze plaque with a piece of rubble from the Pentagon attack. The plaque describes a portion of Eric’s life and allows the community to connect with him. During the unveiling ceremony on May 15, 2011, Eric’s mother and I cut a red, white, and blue ribbon, officially opening the memorial to the public. September 11th changed my life in a very unique way. Unlike so many others, I did not go through the pain of losing a loved one . Instead, I learned to respect and desire the values possessed by Eric and many others who lost their lives on that day. The heroism, bravery, and self-sacrifice, held by every person who serves our nation, are the strongest values that a person can hope to have. I know that the memorial in honor of Lt. Cmdr. Eric Allen Cranford is not as large or as prominent as the ones in D.C., and its appearance will soon begin to fade. However, the memories of Eric and all of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice by dying for our country will never be forgotten.