HOUSTON \u2013 Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks changed the course of American history, two Houston-area Marine veterans are reflecting on the day that helped shape their military service – and the sacrifices that followed.<\/p>\n
For Mia Garcia, the timing was especially striking.<\/p>\n
Garcia was just 18 years old when she signed up for the United States Marine Corps, only two weeks before the attacks of September 11, 2001.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember feeling just such loss,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n
As she watched firefighters, police officers and other first responders run toward the burning World Trade Center towers, Garcia said their willingness to risk their lives for others reinforced her own desire to serve.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing those few people run into those buildings so selfless, what selfless action,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI think that\u2019s really what did it for me, is, I want to be that person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia went on to serve eight years in the Marine Corps as a logistics Marine and deployed to Kuwait during the Iraq War.<\/p>\n
For fellow Marine veteran John Smith, 9\/11 also marked the beginning of a new chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were on the trajectory of ready to leave and go fight somebody,\u201d Smith recalled.<\/p>\n
Smith served nine years in the Marine Corps as a structural aviation mechanic and eventually deployed to Iraq. He volunteered to be part of a pre-workup crew as Marines prepared for deployment.<\/p>\n
His service would also expose him to the human cost of war.<\/p>\n
Smith remembers the shock of losing fellow Marines with whom he had served closely.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s initially shock, because again, you\u2019re right there with them, and then the next minute, they\u2019re not around anymore,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The effects did not end when Smith returned home.<\/p>\n
He was eventually diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and continues receiving treatment today.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the signs were there, but when you\u2019re in it, you don\u2019t see it,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Smith said long-term counseling has helped him manage the condition, but he cautions other veterans against viewing PTSD treatment as a quick fix.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been seeing the same counselor for a long time. Why? Because it\u2019s effective and it works,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t want any veteran to come to a couple treatments and say, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m cured.\u2019 It\u2019s not a cure, it\u2019s management. You have to manage the PTSD.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Deleene Menefe, PTSD Program Director at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, works with veterans dealing with PTSD, depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges.<\/p>\n
Menefee said the enormity of September 11 continues to resonate a quarter-century later.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was so big,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone remembers where they were that day.\u201d<\/p>\n
For veterans living with PTSD, Menefee said treatment can involve psychotherapy, medication or a combination of approaches, depending on the individual.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe find that the best oftentimes is the interaction of both, having maybe some treatment for the depressive symptoms of PTSD or anxiety, as well as the talk therapy,\u201d Menefee said.<\/p>\n
The message, she said, is that veterans do not have to struggle alone and that effective treatment is available.<\/p>\n
Twenty-five years after 9\/11, Garcia also hopes younger Americans who have no personal memory of the attacks will understand the courage displayed that day – and the spirit of service that followed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do hope that the younger generation can see, like, the bravery in that, putting your own life ahead of others, or putting others\u2019 lives ahead of you, and that can motivate them to join the military,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n
For Smith, the trauma he experienced has not diminished his pride in having served.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just celebrated 250 years of being a free country. Free country doesn\u2019t come without a cost,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAnd so I\u2019m very proud to be part of that 6% of the nation that has risen my right hand to serve. And I would absolutely do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
A quarter-century after a day that transformed the country, the memories of September 11 remain vivid for those whose lives were redirected by it.<\/p>\n
For some, the legacy is found in service.<\/p>\n
For others, it remains in wounds that are still being treated.<\/p>\n
And for veterans like Garcia and Smith, it is also found in the enduring belief that answering the call to serve was worth the sacrifice.<\/p>\n
Veterans seeking help for PTSD or other mental health concerns can contact the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston AT (713) 794-8700.<\/p>\n
The Veterans Crisis Line is available 24 hours a day for veterans experiencing a mental health crisis. That number is 988*1 and features a chat line for texting.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Twenty-five years after the September 11 terrorist attacks changed the course of American history, two Houston-area…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[17802,35474,56,58,57,35709,149737,73757,1913],"class_list":["post-434493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-9-11","tag-afghanistan","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-iraq","tag-september-11","tag-soldiers","tag-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}