AGGIES AND AMERICANS Former, current A&M players impacted by terrorist attacks By Rusty Burson

Like virtually all Americans, former Texas A&M star defensive back Aaron Glenn had been glued to the television during the week following the terrorist attacks on the United States. Glenn watched the horrifying video footage of planes crashing into the World Trade Center, experienced the sorrow as numbers became names and dealt with a gamut of emotions, ranging from shock and disbelief to anger and outrage.

Perhaps everyone in America was – and may forever be – affected by the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

But for Glenn, who has spent the last eight seasons as a member of the New York Jets, the impact of it all was taken to a new level of awareness one week later when he and most of his teammates ventured into the heart of the horrific scene.

Dan Campbell (above) and Aaron Glenn (lower right) have seen a city and country come together like never before in the aftermath of the recent terrorist attacks.

Dressed in red shirts that identified them only as workers for the Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services, Glenn, his brother Jason and most of the Jets’ players and staff spent the afternoon of Sept. 18 just a few blocks from "ground zero," lending a helping hand for the rescue and relief effort.

They manned a hot-food line for families and volunteers, they loaded trucks and they shook hands. Most of all, Glenn says, they were amazed at the amount of destruction that had been done to one of the world’s greatest cities.

"To see it on TV was one thing, but to see it in person gives you an entire new perspective of what happened and the magnitude of it all," Glenn said. "Because I’ve been here in New York for eight years this is like a second home for me. And it’s just tragic. Those buildings were such a part of New York, and now they’re gone. Just gone, just an empty space in the skyline.

"And the loss of life, well, you can’t measure the pain, the suffering, the sorrow. It really has had a major impact on me."

While it has affected us all, it has certainly hit closer to home for many in the Texas A&M family. As of Sept. 19, at least three Texas A&M former students were presumed dead as a result of the attacks.

Jimmy Neville Storey, Class of ’65, and Lee Adler, who received a doctoral degree in nuclear chemistry from A&M in 1984, were killed in the collapse of WTC twin towers. Army Lt. Col. Jerry Dickerson, who earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering from Texas A&M in 1992, was killed while at work in the Pentagon.

For current A&M defensive back Jay Brooks, the attack on the Pentagon produced some especially anxious and fearful moments, as he wondered about the safety of both his mother, Pamela Hernandez, and his uncle, Maurice Lewis.

Hernandez is a U.S. Army enlisted woman who offices in a building near the Pentagon. She was on her way to the Pentagon for a meeting when a hijacked airliner crashed into the building.

Lewis is in the Air Force and had recently moved into an office in the Pentagon relatively close to where the aircraft struck.

"I flipped on the TV (on the morning of Sept. 11), and I saw it," Brooks said. "About 10 minutes later, my brother called me and said, ‘You know Momma’s there.’ I said, ‘What?’ But I sat there and put two and two together, and I started calling her, but all the lines were busy.

"My grandma called and said, ‘I talked to Pam, she said she’s all right, but she’s looking for Maurice.’ I sat there and still tried to get in touch with her, and I still couldn’t. She finally called me around 10 o’clock that night and told me she was all right and my uncle was, too. She was still crying and still upset, but she was OK."

Prior to his mother’s phone call, Brooks said he received plenty of support from his teammates and R.C. Slocum. In fact, when Brooks told Slocum about the situation, it was the Aggies’ head coach who began helping Brooks reach the Red Cross regarding information about Hernandez’s whereabouts.

Brooks said the support he received from his football "family" was especially appreciated.

"A couple guys who knew my mom worked out there in D.C. noticed I came in and I was sitting by myself, and they came and talked to me, telling me everything was going to be all right," Brooks said. "After a while, people started coming around, eventually the whole team, surrounding me, encouraging me. They all stepped forward, like a family, like a brother, making sure that it was going to be OK, reassuring. I really respect the team for doing that. It shows a lot. In a crisis like that, your team comes to your aid at any time to help you in your trials."

Jason Glenn was one of the Jets players who helped at the horrific scene where the World Trade Center collapsed.

Texas A&M redshirt freshman linebacker Brian Thompson was, like Brooks, able to breathe a sigh of relief on Sept. 11. Thompson’s father was supposed to attend a business meeting that day in the World Trade Center, but his flight from Texas to New York was cancelled.

While most of the current A&M players and students were not directly affected by the terrorist attacks, America’s response could certainly involve members of the A&M student body.

President George W. Bush has authorized the call-up of a large number of America's reservists. The call-up has already impacted A&M, with a number of students – undergraduate, graduate and professional – receiving their orders to report for active duty.

And the possibility of a military draft has been mentioned —–something that A&M inside linebacker Brian Gamble, among others, has spent time thinking about since President Bush’s declaration that the events were "acts of war."

Gamble, for one, says he would be ready to serve if his country needed him.

"Yeah I would definitely (serve in the armed forces), and I’ve given it some thought," he said. "It’s infuriating to me that you have some terrorists who are basically cowards come over and do something like this.

"It’s just like if you’re in your home and somebody comes into your home and tries to kill your family. How are you going to respond to that? You’re going to respond with madness and fight to bring justice to that. It’s the same way with our country. You just don’t come into our house and bomb our places. It really irritates me. It really makes me mad. I would go to war if called. It’s my job as an American to do whatever is called for. They did this to our home, and I will definitely defend our homeland."

From Dan Campbell’s home in New Jersey, he can see the skyline of New York. Campbell, one of the captains of Texas A&M’s 1998 Big 12 championship team and a current Giants tight end, is one of five former A&M players currently on the rosters of New York professional sports teams. (Others are Aaron Glenn, Jason Glenn and Ray Mickens of the New York Jets and Chuck Knoblauch of the New York Yankees).

And for Campbell, the attacks hit close enough to home to strike fear into the heart of one of the most fearless A&M player to ever wear an Aggie uniform.

"I’m not going to lie to you, when all this stuff first happened, I was about to pack my family up and we were going to drive back home," Campbell said. "Or drive wherever, Nebraska, somewhere where I didn’t think the terrorist would hit. Just to get away from here. Then I saw the Pentagon had been hit, which I couldn’t imagine that. So yeah, there was fear.

"But as the week had gone on, I think I came to grips with the fact that it’s more one of those things that whatever is going to happen is going to happen. I’ve got no control over that, and I can’t just stop my life and be afraid if anything is going to happen. I’ve put my faith in God, and no terrorist is going to keep me from doing what I have to do."

Glenn echoed those sentiments, saying he would not be afraid to play in front of packed stadiums that could be potential targets for terrorists.

"I’m right with God and secure about my future," Glenn said. "I can’t live this life in fear. My perspectives about the importance of the games have changed since the attacks, but my resolve to carry on is stronger than ever. I was very glad we didn’t play that weekend after the attacks, but I’m looking forward to playing again and possibly helping in the healing process in some very small way."

Both Glenn and Campbell said they have been impressed – even moved – by the way the country, especially New Yorkers have responded in the aftermath of the attacks.

"You hate to say that there’s something positive that has come out of this ordeal, but people here have come together like never before," said Campbell, now in his third season with the Giants. "As long as I've been up here, I have never seen people just drop what they’re doing to help others. But that’s happening now. Everyone has totally come together as a group, as a city, to do whatever it takes to find survivors, to get the job done, to realize that we’re all on the same side here.

"We’re all Americans. Even when you’re driving around now, you can just see it. You can tell that this place has bonded like nothing I've ever seen before. In the past if you’re on the New Jersey Turnpike, and you’re not going fast enough, they’re honking, they’re trying to run you off the road, things like that. That stuff is not going on anymore. This place has learned that it’s time to stick together and become one. That’s the only way we’re going to make it through this."