On Aug. 29, the Navajo Nation’s Birdsprings community received some welcome news, as Michael Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, announced the chapter’s bridge was selected as the first of 12 projects across the nation that will be 100-percent federally funded under a new pilot program.
It was a Tuesday. Twenty-three years ago.
The day of the week – not the date of the month – stands out the most for retired Col. Aaron Barta.
Tuesday. A planned training day. A normal drive into work.
By mid-morning, all of that would change.
Tuesday would soon alter the course of Barta’s life and redefine the next 20 years of his Army career and the nation.
It was Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. This is his story.
