The late-appearing, offhanded, lighthearted (was she smiling when she said it?) manner in which Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., describes the Sept. 11 attack on America, “Some people did something,” received the outraged response it deserved. We who believe no American should ever forget, vowed that day to remember who launched the attack against us and why, to remain forever vigilant in defense of freedom, and to honor in perpetuity those who died that day and in the months and years ahead. For me, that means remembering my friend, Steven Vincent.
In a July of 2004 Reason magazine article, New York City freelance writer Steven Vincent exposed the truth behind the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. “How did a well-intentioned piece of legislation come to provoke fears of Orwellian snooping?” he asked. “The answer involves the weighted history of Indian relations, a vaguely written federal law, and the zealous agencies that seek to enforce it, as well as aspects of Native American culture that strike some non-Indians as confusing and often contradictory.”
Vincent wrote forthrightly about issues with which I was intimately familiar: the escalating demands of American Indian religious practitioners, the eagerness of federal bureaucrats to accede to those demands, and the ruthlessness of federal law enforcement personnel and lawyers in defending the legality and constitutionality of that acquiescence. Would he write more about such things? On a trip to New York City in the summer of 2004, I met with Vincent in a small, neighborhood coffee shop in the East Village. We spoke about “sacred” Native American artifacts, about tribal cultures, and about the closure of “sacred” lands, but mostly we talked about other things because, as I was to learn, life had changed irrevocably for Vincent.
It changed, as it did for millions of Americans, on Sept. 11, 2001. That clear morning in the Lower East Side apartment he shared with his wife, Lisa Ramaci, he received a telephone call from a neighbor, summoning him to the roof of their building. There the two of them watched in horror as, a little more than two miles away, the north tower of the World Trade Center burned. They were there when the second plane hit the south tower. They were still there when both towers collapsed an hour later. “Terrorists,” thought Vincent, and when he did, he knew he was seeing unspeakable evil, evil made worse by its desire to be displayed for the world to see.
When America responded in the weeks and months ahead, Vincent cheered. He knew, however, that cheering was not enough. He had to do something. Too old to join the military, he joined with them, as a journalist, when the coalition forces liberated Iraq in March 2003.
There he fell in love with the country, its people longing to be free, and the worldwide fight for freedom. On his return, days before I met with him, he wrote and, in November of 2004, published, In the Red Zone: A Journey into the Soul of Iraq. It received universal acclaim and Vincent appeared often in the media and blogosphere. Shortly after In the Red Zone was released, we met again, this time in his apartment. I brought his books to be autographed and he spread his maps and posters over the hardwood floor; we talked long into the darkness outside. I had a personal reason for wanting to know more: my son Perry, a Marine second lieutenant, had received orders to “the sandbox.”
Over the weeks, we corresponded frequently, and Vincent graced me with his writings. When I sought to meet with him on my next visit to New York City, he demurred; he was already back in Iraq. His postings continued, culminating in a July 31, 2005, article in the New York Times. Hours later, Steven Vincent was abducted and murdered. On August 15, 2005, I joined his family, friends, and admirers in Middle Collegiate Church in New York City to pay our final respects.
A hero of Sept. 11 as surely as the passengers and firefighters who rushed forward on that day or the men and women in uniform on the days following, Vincent served America with his courage, his insight, and his willingness to speak truth in defense of freedom. Like all heroes, he inspires us to do likewise, knowing that when we do, whatever sacrifice we make is trivial compared to the one he made so willingly.
In doing so, we must also respond to those like Omar who do not understand, let alone remember.
William Perry Pendley (@Sagebrush_Rebel) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an attorney and the author of “Sagebrush Rebel: Reagan’s Battle with Environmental Extremists and Why It Matters Today” as well as “Summary Judgment: 25 Years of Condemning Treachery, Tyranny, and Injustice.”
