Fifteen years ago seems like just yesterday, when the horrific news of September 11^th invaded our home on that quiet Tuesday morning. Young enough that we had not been aware of “terrorism”, and yet old enough to own the sense of violation, it was as if we ourselves had been attacked. Those images will forever be seared in our minds.

In the years following 9/11, as many of our peers were being deployed and sacrificing life and limb—on our behalf—our young patriotic spirits burned with the question, “What can we do?”

Fifteen years later, we are about to answer that question. Now two months out from publication, never would we have imagined that a children’s book would be our humble tribute to this generation of Americans answering the call of duty. In a sense, it wasn’t our own idea; another Author placed it on our hearts.

We write for the children of our peers who have paid the price for freedom. Some of those children will never know the parent who made the ultimate sacrifice. For others families, years of adjustment are ahead as they heal from the wounds of war.

But we also write for the many children who are not faced with the sober realities of military life. We want to inspire patriotism in them, to impress upon these children that there is indeed a cost attached to freedom, and show how we can honor those who have paid it.

Never forget.

Sarah E. Dautel
on behalf of Team Ajax

Photo credit: National Park Service

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