I was in Asuncion, Paraguay leading a conference at a resort hotel. A colleague called my hotel room to tell me that a plane had struck the first tower. The twenty some odd men attending the conference gathered in the conference room to watch the news --- and we stayed there watching the horror play out in total disbelief. Contact with our families (scattered across the US and Latin America at the time) was impossible, and we were soon (w/in 24 hours) sequestered in the hotel by US Special Forces and the Paraguayan Military, and stayed there for more nearly two weeks. Needless to say, the conference no longer mattered. And it was on that day that my oldest (who is currently at Airborne & Ranger School at Ft. Benning, GA) committed to a military career. I (we) will never forget...
