Henry Howard, director of media and communications for the American Legion, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast for his monthly update with two significant topics as the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches.
Howard discussed the September cover story of the American Legion Magazine, titled Sacred Honor, written by Ben King. King was working at a Radio Shack in Washington, D.C., when the attacks happened. He signed up for the U.S. Army Reserve within days and, in 2006, was deployed to Baghdad. During the deployment, he survived an attack on his Humvee and received the Purple Heart. He would go on to become operations director of the Virginia War Memorial. Howard also previewed a new Tango Alpha Lima Podcast episode publishing Sept. 8 featuring Heather Penney, a military pilot whose mission on 9/11 was to intercept United Flight 93 and bring it down if necessary. It was a mission that would not have been survivable.
Finally, Howard discussed a September magazine feature on America's dramatic decline in shipbuilding, from 180,000 shipyard jobs in 1980 to approximately 105,000 by 2010, and a current shipbuilding capacity estimated at 200 times less than China's.
- Ben King's September cover story, “Sacred Honor,” traces his journey from 9/11 to today. It starts with what he thought was a routine Tuesday morning in Washington, D.C. — stopping at a 7-Eleven for cigarettes and lunch before starting a shift at Radio Shack — to hearing about the attacks and deciding on the spot that if this was war, he would go. He signed up for the Army Reserves within days. In 2006, King was deployed to Baghdad, where his Humvee was attacked. He sustained injuries that earned him the Purple Heart. He now serves as operations director of the Virginia War Memorial.
- The American Legion's Tango Alpha Lima podcast, which produced 20 stories for the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 that are still available on legion.org and Spotify, is releasing a new episode on Sept. 8 featuring Heather Penney. A military pilot who was scrambled on Sept. 11 with her wingmate to intercept United Flight 93, Penney was prepared to bring it down with her own aircraft if necessary — a mission from which she would not have returned. Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pa., before she was able to reach the plane.
- King also discussed a September magazine feature by Ed Lewis, vice president of government relations for the Maritime Institute and a 30-year Coast Guard veteran. The article traces America's shipbuilding decline from its peak during World War II through rising labor costs, regulatory pressures, post-Cold War defense reprioritization, and the Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990, which shuttered four of the eight largest U.S. shipbuilding facilities. China's shipbuilding capacity is now estimated to be more than 200 times greater than that of the United States, with significant national security and global supply chain implications.
Sacred Honor: A Radio Shack Worker Who Went to War
The September cover story of the American Legion Magazine was written by Ben King. Titled “Sacred Honor,” Howard said the story captures something essential about who answered the call after Sept. 11, and what that decision cost them.
On Sept. 11, 2001, King started a routine Tuesday. He was in Washington, D.C., stopping at a 7-Eleven for cigarettes and lunch before the start of his shift at Radio Shack. He caught wind of what was unfolding and found himself close enough to the Pentagon strike to understand what was happening in real time. While talking to a police officer amid the chaos, someone said this was war. King responded, “I'll go.”
He signed up for the U.S. Army Reserves within days. He was deployed to Baghdad in April 2006. His deployment produced the moment that defines the story. The Humvee he was driving was struck by a type of improvised explosive device designed to penetrate armored vehicles. The force of the strike pushed the engine block back into him. He noted in his piece that if the timing had been slightly different or the angle slightly off, he would not have survived. He was discharged due to his injuries and received the Purple Heart.
Howard highlighted a detail from King's story that he said stopped him when he read it. King's license plate now reads CHBW, which stands for “Could Have Been Worse.”
King did not come home and leave service behind. He now serves as operations director of the Virginia War Memorial. Howard noted that King wrote in his piece that being deployed was the first time he had ever actually read the Declaration of Independence — a document he had been willing to die defending without having read it. His life took a direction no one would have predicted from that Tuesday morning at the 7-Eleven.
More than 2 million Americans joined the military and were deployed overseas in the 20 years following 9/11. King's story is one of those 2 million. The attacks themselves killed 2,977 people.
Tango Alpha Lima: Heather Penney and the Mission She Was Prepared to Die For
Five years ago, the American Legion's Tango Alpha Lima podcast produced 20 episodes for the 20th anniversary of 9/11, including stories from one of the last civilian pilots to land before airspace was closed, a ferry boat captain who spent the day evacuating people from Manhattan and one of the air traffic controllers assigned to United Flight 93. Those 20 episodes are still available on legion.org, Spotify and anywhere podcasts are found.
For the 25th anniversary, a new episode will be published on Sept. 8. It features Heather Penney, a military pilot who was scrambled on the morning of 9/11 with her wingmate. Their assignment was to intercept Flight 93 and bring it down, using their aircraft if necessary. There was not enough time to arm her plane with missiles. The only option available to them, if it came to it, was ramming the aircraft. She left knowing that if the mission went as planned, she would not be coming back.
Flight 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pa — brought down by passengers who stormed the cockpit — before Penney and her wingmate could reach it. Howard described the episode as an incredible and entirely unique story, one that most Americans who know the broad outlines of 9/11 have never heard. The episode publishes Sept. 8 and will be available on legion.org and all major podcast platforms.
American Shipbuilding: How a 200-Times Gap Happened
The second major story Howard discussed is a feature in the September issue by Ed Lewis, vice president of government relations for the Maritime Institute and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran with more than 30 years of service. The piece is titled “A Workforce to Revive: American Shipbuilding,” and traces the arc of how the United States went from a shipbuilding power central to Allied success in World War II to a country whose shipbuilding capacity is now estimated to be 200 times less than that of China.
The decline started in the 1950s as the post-World War II boom faded. Increased labor costs and regulatory pressures made American shipbuilding less competitive internationally and less commercially viable domestically. After the Cold War ended, defense priorities shifted, and shipbuilding became less of a priority. The Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1990 shuttered four of the eight largest shipbuilding facilities in the country.
The numbers tell the story. In 1980, there were 180,000 shipyard jobs in the United States. By 2010, one generation later, that number had dropped to approximately 105,000 — roughly a 45 percent decline in 30 years. The decline has continued since.
Whoever controls the waterways controls a significant portion of the global economy, Howard explained. The Strait of Hormuz is one example of how maritime control translates into geopolitical leverage. A United States that has allowed its shipbuilding capacity to fall this far behind China is not in a strong position to assert that leverage when it matters, he added.
The article also addresses the workforce dimension. Veterans have skills directly transferable to shipbuilding careers — navigation, logistics, engineering, manufacturing and port operations. The issue is not the workforce availability. It is the absence of the shipyard jobs that would put that workforce to use. Bath Iron Works in Maine, where workers are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, is among the facilities highlighted in the article.
Howard said the American Legion will continue to follow the story. It is available in the September issue of the American Legion Magazine and at legion.org.
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