On September 11, 2001 I was assigned to work a 4-12 canine shift at the port of entry in Progreso, Texas. The phone rang and my mother-in-law told my wife to turn on the television. I woke up startled by the phone and as soon as I saw the news it hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not believe what I was watching the twin towers under attack. At first only the first tower had been hit and I actually saw the second plane fly into the second tower followed by the explosion. I called into the port and asked if they needed me to come into work early. At that time they said they were still checking into the events and would inform me if things changed. I continued watching the news when the towers fell. My heart ached with disbelief. I decided to go to work early to see if I could be of any assistance with whatever may follow.

I reported for duty and every officer was scrabbling around trying to find out if the ports were going to close or what the status was going to be. The port actually stayed open, the officers started to more intensely check all cars and travelers. You could see the sadness and concern as officers went about their assigned duties. As the days went on staffing of officers went from working 8 hour shifts to consecutive double shifts working 16 hours per day. The only family time the officers had was on scheduled days off. Then all officers would again start the 16 hour per day regiment till their next days off.

At that time I lived in McAllen, Texas approximately 45 miles away from the port of entry in Progreso. My daily commute to and from the port took about 2 hours. By the time I would get off work, get home, relax and fall asleep it was time to get up and go to work. I was averaging about 4 hours of sleep a day. My fellow officers were all doing their share even though they were exhausted. After a couple of weeks I questioned myself whether I could continue to function at this rate. We didn't know how long we would be expected to work at this pace and the fatigue was starting to set in.

Fortunately, I owned a travel trailer. I started to check with the trailer parks close to the Port of Entry and asked if they would allow me to move my trailer in during the time of our country’s need. Most of the trailer parks told me because I was not 50 years old they could not allow me to stay. I was only able to find one trailer park that would allow me to move in with my trailer. I truly appreciated them for being willing to help out. My commute was only about 5 minutes to get to the Port of Entry after dressing into my uniform. I was finally able to get the rest my body needed to continue on. I also offered, for my fellow officers that had the same kind of commute, to stay in my trailer if they needed. This life style went on for almost a month and a half before the port operations started to return to normal. If it had not been for the trailer park and my families support it would have been almost impossible to function during this time in history.

I still reflect back to that time on every anniversary of this horrendous attack on our country and what has happen since. I am very proud to be part of Customs and Border Protection. I am still a canine handler and enjoy my job. It gives me the same pride as when I served our country in the Army and believe the dedicated officers of Customs and Border Protection are soldiers protecting our ports of entry. Our country is fortunate to have dedicated officers serving our countries borders during these difficult times. The job has changed in comparison to before 9/11, but the family within Customs and Border Protection has earned a new alliance since that day.

Respectfully submitted for those officers that lived through this sad day. God Bless them ALL!