As we arrive at the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I’ve been blown away by the chilling revival of the 9/12 American spirit. I just wish it were under better circumstances.

I’m from Upstate New York, and in 2001, my father, who is now a Colonel in the Army Reserves, was in the New York Army National Guard. He was sent down to perform clean-up of the site at the World Trade Center.

Here are some of the things he’s told me about that experience:

“On the way to Camp Smith, a construction worker at our rest area heard where we were heading and stopped to give us his USA construction helmet. Patriotism was at an all-time high.”

“We got assigned to the inner 24-hour detail around the site to provide security and assist in traffic flow. We ended up being there for about three weeks, and then returned shortly after to do another three-week security detail in the city at various places like the subway stations, Times Square, parks, and Grand Central Station.”

My dad raised me to have a great appreciation of history, so I love seeing pictures and videos of the past, especially major moments in history.

Here are some of the pictures my dad has from his time there: