How a class at Francis Howell High School on Sept. 11, 2001, inspired one student to enlist

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – One man is reconnecting with the teacher who inspired him to enlist in the military on Sept. 11, 2001.

At an open house for Justin Bridwell’s children, he ran into his favorite history teacher from the past.

The date is seared into the minds of many who lived through it. The impact of the day can start a conversation, such as where you were when it happened. For Bridwell, he was in Mr. West’s history classroom inside Francis Howell High School.

“I had them take out paper as we were watching, and start writing everything down they’re saying—so we can remember and maybe make a timeline,” Eric West said. “They were doing it and taking notes, and then we see the first of the towers come crashing down live.”

Those letters are sealed in a safe deposit box to be opened on the 50 ^th anniversary of the terrorist attack. Wednesday at the high school, Bridwell and West reconnected over the tragic day 23 years ago.

“We started talking about that class that happened on Sept. 11 and that letter we wrote,” Bridwell said.

The day happened to fall on Bridwell’s 17 ^th birthday, and the events on that day pushed him to enlist with the Navy.

“I ended up saying, ‘OK,’ and ended up raising my right hand, swearing in on Sept. 11, 2001,” he said.

He went on to serve for 17 years in the Navy, Air Force, and Marines.

“It was indescribable, and we spent the rest of the semester trying to make sense of what had happened,” West said. “Because it did happen, and out of something extraordinarily terrible, there was some good that came out of it.”

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