Des Moines, Iowa, 11 Sept. 2021 – Iowa National Guard Soldiers and Airmen reflect on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, sharing personal memories and lessons from that day.
Sgt. 1st Class Lequitta Bickford
"Almost every generation has a demarcation event that pushes the drive to serve. For myself and my girls, September 11th was our generation’s event.
On 9/11 I had three young daughters at home, and I'm up getting them ready for school and out the door. I’m drinking my coffee. Watching the news. All of a sudden you see the plane hit the tower and you’re thinking, ‘What the hell is going on now?’
My husband, at the time, had been in the military for ten years, but was in the National Guard. So, I call him, ‘Hey, are you paying attention to the news? Apparently there was a plane that was hijacked by a terrorist and it was flown into one of the New York Trade Center Towers.’
My thinking was, ‘Is he going to get called up?’
I didn’t enlist until six years later. My girls were old enough then that they didn’t need me at the house. It was time to do something for me and take on a little bit of the family tradition.
My third great grandfather John Andrew Lunyou served in the Civil War with the 47th United States Colored Infantry. And since then my family has been represented in almost every major U.S. conflict.
And all three of my daughters have served. So, service, that sense of duty, loyalty, and honor, has been passed down. When 9/11 hit it increased that desire, that sense of patriotism and justice.
I think a lot of us that serve have less of a tolerance for injustice. At least I know I do."
(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Everett)
| Date Taken: | 09.09.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2025 16:32 |
| Photo ID: | 9308044 |
| VIRIN: | 250909-A-AY917-6435 |
| Resolution: | 1280x854 |
| Size: | 203.71 KB |
| Location: | DES MOINES, IOWA, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 20 Years Later: Iowa National Guard Reflects on September 11, 2001 [Image 7 of 7], by 1SG Jason Everett, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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