Marine Remembers Being at Butler H.S. on 9/11

graduate Sgt. Donnie Fernandez did not join the Marine Corps because of 9/11, but he remembers the day vividly. He was sitting in math class when the principal announced that the Twin Towers had been attacked by airplanes.

Fernandez, who now lives in California, joined the Marines in 2003 and has been proud to protect the freedom of his family members and friends ever since, he said.

Tri-boro Patch caught up with Fernandez to hear what he had to say about serving in the Marines and his memories of 9/11.

Q: Where did you grow up?

A: I lived in the Philippines, where I was born, for about seven years, then I moved to Lincoln Park. I lived there for about two years. Then, just before fourth grade, I moved to Butler and graduated from Butler High School.

Q: What branch of the military do you serve in?

A: I'm part of the Marine Corps and enlisted in July 2003. I went to boot camp (basic training) in January of 2004.

Q: What made you decide to join?

A: I decided to join because of the opportunities the Marine Corps had. I wanted to challenge myself and be part of one of the elite forces of the United States. It was a good way to pay for my college and also something that'll make my parents proud. The Marines had the hardest basic training out of all the other services and I wanted to be a part of the "Few and the Proud." Plus, I didn't want to be stuck in Butler–I wanted to see the world and what it has to offer. I also wanted to join because I wanted to be a part of protecting the freedom of my family and friends.

Q: What do you remember about the day of 9/11?

A: The day of 9/11, I was in my math class at when the principal announced that an airplane crashed into the World Trade Center. I thought nothing of it at first and that it was just a freak accident until the principal came on the intercom and stated another plane had crashed into the second World Trade Center building. I was shocked and scared at the same time that we were being attacked.

I wanted to ditch class and make sure if this was our last day, I was going to make it worthwhile. I never did ditch, but throughout that whole day, every class that I had, we just talked about the incident and what was next and if we were going to war. But that's all I can recall from that day.

Q: How did the events of 9/11 influence your decision to join?

A: The events of 9/11 did not influence me to join, not at all. I was young and I was scared of going to war. I actually was unsure about joining the military, because I knew nothing of it. Then I talked to the recruiter and he told me what the Marines were all about.

When I thought about the military when I was younger, I thought that you go out there in the front lines and fight all the time. But it's not like that. There's a lot of other things instead of fighting you can do in the military. They have a lot of technical jobs and supportive jobs for the people who go out there and fight. As Marines, we are all trained to fight, but also have technical jobs we signed up for, such as logistics, mechanics, drivers, supply workers, aviation mechanics, communications divisions, etc.

The only reason I was scared about going to war was because I wasn't trained in anything. I mean, I grew up in Butler. I never shot a gun before, I didn't know any tactics and the only hand-to-hand combat I knew was from watching martial arts movies. After I was trained with all that, I was more confident about myself and my skills if things were to go sour.

Q: Did you go overseas? What are some memories you have?

A: I was overseas for a year between March 2006 and March 2007. Our tours overseas are usually between six and seven months, but I volunteered for another tour while I was out there. I mean, my friends extended their tours also, so I said, "Why not? I'm not gonna go home and party without you guys."

What I remember from being out there was that it was hot. I was stationed in Fallujah, Iraq and my main job was to do combat support for ammunition and also to watch the tracker just in case others needed logistical support. When I was first out there, I was excited. I was out there looking for some action. But that's just me, I watch a lot of war movies and now it was the real thing and I was out there proving myself. It was rough the first six months we were there, but as we did our jobs and pushed and secured the area, it started to get a lot quieter.

Q: What are you doing on this year's 10th anniversary of 9/11?

This year, since I'm now a recruiter for the Marines, the high school I'm recruiting at (in California) asked me if I could set something up at their school. I don't know what they want me to do yet, but I will do it. They have their own Marine ROTC program over there and the teacher is the one planning everything. They just want me to be there to represent.

Tri-Boro Patch will have much more 9/11 coverage coming up this week. Here's what you should look forward to:

• We'll show you what a few tri-boro residents had to say about what the anniversary of 9/11 means to them in a special compilation video.
• A closer look at educational curriculum regarding 9/11. Tri-boro Patch will share what is being done locally in tri-boro school districts to teach students about the event and the special anniversary.
• We'll have photo galleries of the first day of school at Kinnelon Public Schools (Tuesday) and Butler and Bloomingdale Public Schools (Wednesday).
• The story of a Kinnelon police officer who responded the day of 9/11.
• Stories about two Kinnelon victims' family members and what they are doing on this year's anniversary.
• Complete coverage of all 9/11-related activities on Sunday, including Kinnelon's dedication ceremony at 1:30 p.m. in front of the  and the Butler and Bloomingdale Candlelight Walk beginning at 7 p.m. at the Bloomingdale Municipal Building, 101 Hamburg Turnpike.