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I had a grand opening for my corporation on Sept. 10. The Chamber of Commerce came and did a ribbon cutting. Great event.

The next morning, I was sitting at my desk and turned on the computer and saw the news of a plane that hit the World Trade Center. I then received a call from the rescue team in Menlo Park where I was a civilian volunteer. They wanted me to come in and start ordering supplies and getting the cache ready to transport. From that point until approximately six months later, I was not running my business anymore.

My position as logistics specialist called me to action, and we finally deployed to Ground Zero WTC NYC on Sept. 18. We left from Travis Air Force Base on a C-5, Constellation and a C-141. I will never forget those early days -- no sleep, called to deploy five times before we actually left.

Leaving my newborn son to help the nation was very stressful yet my duty. I will always be there for the community and always be there for our country.

Mark Meyers
Garland Drive
Palo Alto

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