Sgt. Corey Dan of Norway was killed while fighting in Iraq on Monday. His first day in the Army was Sept. 11, 2001, infamous for the lethal terrorist attacks on U.S. soil that killed nearly 3,000 Americans. Dan was interviewed by the Sun Journal one year later and recounted finding out about the attacks and that he would soon be sent to war.

On visiting Ground Zero:

“A lot of family members were there, sobbing… After the ceremony, I took a minute to gaze into the crater that once held the Twin Towers. It reminded me of a Matchbox town. The excavators looked like micro machines and I stood there, holding onto the fence, and wondered what was the purpose of the attacks? I couldn’t find a reason, but when the time comes for fighting, I’ll be ready. I will earn my paycheck.”

On hearing about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center:

“I was scared and nervous, but when I found out that my American brothers and sisters had been needlessly murdered, I was ready to fight.”

On learning he would be going to war:

“We had a moment of silence (in the barracks) in which you could hear a lot of troops crying in the room. I felt scared, nervous, ready to fight.” When the drill sergeant said Dan’s unit would be going to Afghanistan to fight, “the lump that had been in my throat all day suddenly got bigger, but from that day on, our motivation (was) to graduate from the hardest Army basic training to fight the Taliban and find bin Laden.”

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