"I was just one of many, one of the thousands that the event propelled into enlisting into the military that day, if not hundreds of thousands."
Mark Suckfiel believes that millions would have enlisted on Sept. 11, 2001, had the recruiting offices not been closed because of the threat of terrorism.
"I went to the recruiter's office that day," Suckfiel recalled. "It was closed."
Suckfiel was a student teacher in the West Mifflin Area School District the day that terrorists struck in New York City, Washington, D.C., and in Somerset County.
Now 32, he teaches history and social studies and coaches the baseball team at South Allegheny High School.
"I have a greater respect for many things, particularly our country and the opportunities that country provides us, be it walking down a street without fear or sitting in a classroom without fear," Suckfiel said.
Tom Maglicco said the feeling he had on Sept. 11, 2001, must have been what soldiers felt on Dec. 7, 1941 " sadness and brokenheartedness.
"It gave a new meaning to the Armed Forces of the United States," said Maglicco, now 40, the chief of staff to state Rep. Marc J. Gergely, D-White Oak.
On Sept. 11, 2011, he was an Army reservist with seven years under his belt, as well as executive director of the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club in McKeesport.
When he heard that morning that a plane had hit the World Trade Center in New York, Maglicco thought it was a terrible accident. When he heard that a second plane had hit the Twin Towers, however, "I knew it was an attack on our country. It was not a coincidence."
Another hijacked commercial jet also struck the Pentagon in Washington that morning, while a fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was retaken by its passengers and crew, who crashed it into a field in Shanksville rather than allow the terrorist hijackers to carry out their mission.
Maglicco kept the LaRosa club open that day "to talk to the youth and reassure them. One youngster asked, (tilde)Why would someone do such a terrible thing?'"
In Munhall, Justin Lubash also got the urge to enlist after the terrorist attacks of 2001, but was just beginning his freshman year at Serra Catholic High School at the time.
In May of this year, after Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces, Lubash said, "I just felt relief. I felt like the hole that was in my heart since Sept. 11 was filled."
He was awaiting an operation, another in a series he's undergone for injuries sustained while serving his country.
Lubash enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2005, married the former Heather Young of Jefferson Hills, then served a tour of duty in Iraq. He also served later in Afghanistan.
"He just wanted to serve his country," Munhall Mayor Raymond Bodnar said at a March event honoring the 24-year-old Lubash's "meritorious service" in Afghanistan, where he was wounded in a Dec. 29, 2010, grenade attack.
"He's a family-oriented person," Bodnar said. "You can see by the number of people here from his family. It says a lot about his character."
Lubash, Maglicco and Suckfiel, who all rose to the rank of sergeant, were among the latest of many in the Mon-Yough area who heeded the call to serve in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
A co-worker of Suckfiel's, assistant high school principal Hal Minford, served in the Naval Reserve during Operation Desert Storm. His son Hal Minford III is an airman presently serving in Wyoming.
The LaRosa club is home to what may be the oldest memorial to the Vietnam War, honoring 11 club members who died in that conflict.
"You sacrifice so much of yourself for the greater good and the greater whole," Suckfiel said.
The most recent area service personnel have taken part in a decade of conflicts that "have inflicted a terrible human toll," McKeesport native and U.S. Army Col. Craig L. Bollenberg Sr. told those gathered at McKeesport's veterans memorial last Nov. 11.
"The enemy they fight is a non-traditional foe," said Bollenberg, who directs the Army's Training Operations Management Activity at Ft. Monroe, Va. "They are not bound by the Geneva Convention, or the morals and decency of our soldiers."
Suckfiel served close to two years in C Company of the 458th Engineering Battalion.
"Then President Bush chose to liberate Iraq," the South Allegheny teacher said. "We were officially alerted (or ordered to active duty) on Dec. 7, 2003."
His reserve unit was fully integrated with Alpha Company, 91st Engineering Battalion, First Cavalry Division, a regular Army unit, because of the heavy losses it sustained in Iraq.
"We were on the streets, kicking down doors, hunting IEDs (improvised explosive devices), and capturing and eliminating terrorists," Suckfiel recalled.
There were close calls, Suckfiel said, but "by the grace of God" he came home without any injury.
Maglicco was called to duty with the 444th Personal Service Battalion in February 2003.
"I started my (Army) career as a ground surveillance analyst," Maglicco said. That unit was deactivated because technology eliminated the need for his job.
Maglicco eventually was assigned to Kuwait, where he was involved in transporting parts and supplies to base camps along the Kuwaiti-Iraqi border.
"Kuwait for the most part is a friendly country to the U.S.," Maglicco said. "We felt pretty welcome. Every so often we'd see a kid roll down a window and wave an American flag."
Maglicco's unit briefly had orders to deploy to Baghdad International Airport, but those orders were pulled, Maglicco said, "because logistically it was better to do (supply work) down in Kuwait."
Ten months into his tour, Maglicco sustained a hand injury while working out, causing his return to the States for surgery.
"It was humbling," Maglicco recalled. "Seeing single, double and even triple amputees gave me such an appreciation of what a soldier means to his country."
Maglicco also had a chance to meet Gen. Colin Powell at an America's Promise luncheon in January 2004.
Lubash was in the 212th Infantry in the Fourth Brigade of the Fourth Infantry Division.
He said members of his group got back from patrol and were relaxing when they were attacked. He was struck by two enemy grenades, and had at least eight metal plates inserted in several parts of his body, including his left forearm.
After coming back to the States, Lubash also was given an honor that reflected his high school interest in hockey. In January he was welcomed to a Penguin practice and given replacements for some of his Penguin memorabilia that had been destroyed in that grenade attack.
Team captain Sidney Crosby presented Lubash with a new jersey, and Penguins coach Dan Bylsma gave him a new Stanley Cup banner. Crosby even gave Lubash and his son, Jackson, one of his sticks.
"I didn't think a player would give away his game stick, the one he uses all the time," Lubash said, "but he was able to give it to Jackson, which was a great thing to do."
In March, Lubash said his family was "really supportive. They want to see us go back and get our life back to normal."
In July he became an intern with the U.S. Marshals Service in Denver. He is studying at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Lubash said on Facebook that he expects to retire from the military in December.
Maglicco and Suckfiel also came home to families.
Maglicco has been married for six years to the former Carlisa DeRose, whom he met through a friend in the Army.
Suckfiel met his future wife Dianne Manz a few weeks after his return. She also teaches now in South Allegheny.
Suckfiel also found a link to another generation that went to war. He found an Ike jacket, bought it and then in April 2009 gave it to Sylvester "Cy" Denne of West Mifflin, who was a tank driver in Korea and Japan during World War II. The presentation was made at the McKeesport Kane Regional Center. Denne died 10 month later at age 88.
"He was old enough to be my grandfather, but in a lot of respects he was my brother," Suckfiel said.
