09/02/2026
DAY 2 OF 25 | Donald Jarvis
25 YEARS LATER | 25 VETERANS, 25 STORIES
Today we continue DAV Chapter 64’s 25 Veterans, 25 Stories with Donald Jarvis, U.S. Army. Donnie was a 10th-grade student when he watched September 11 unfold from his geometry classroom. He did not join the military because of 9/11. But five years later, he entered a military that had been profoundly changed by it. His service would eventually take him to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here is Donnie’s story, in his own words.
What does 9/11 mean to you as a veteran?
“September 11 means something different to me today than it did when I was a 10th-grade student sitting in geometry class watching the events unfold on television. At that age, I don't think I could have understood how much that day would change our country or how far its impact would reach.
Five years later, I joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard, not because of 9/11, but for my own reasons. I would eventually deploy to both Iraq and Afghanistan and become part of a generation of service members whose military service was shaped by the wars that followed September 11.
Today, as a veteran, 9/11 represents not only the lives lost that day, but also everything that followed: the years of war, the service and sacrifice of so many, and the families and communities that were forever changed. Twenty-five years later, I can look back and recognize just how much that single day shaped the world in which my generation would serve.”
How did 9/11 change your life or your military service?
“September 11 did not directly lead me to join the military. I was only a sophomore in high school when the attacks happened, and at that point in my life, military service was not something I was considering. I ultimately joined the Massachusetts Army National Guard in September 2006 for reasons of my own.
However, once I joined, I entered a military that had been significantly shaped by the events of 9/11 and the wars that followed. I deployed to Iraq in 2007–2008, and at the time I remember trying to understand the connection between Iraq and September 11. As time went on, that connection became less clear to me, particularly when trying to reconcile Iraq and Saddam Hussein with al-Qaeda and the attacks in New York.
My deployment to Afghanistan in 2011–2012 felt much more directly connected to what had begun on September 11. My time in Afghanistan was ultimately cut short after less than a month when I was injured in an IED strike.
Looking back 25 years later, I don't believe 9/11 was what led me to military service, but there is no question that it helped shape the military I joined, the conflicts in which I served, and ultimately the course my own military service would take.”
What would you want a young person who was born after September 11, 2001, to understand about that day and its impact?
“I would want a young person born after September 11 to understand that 9/11 was not simply one tragic day in American history. Its impact continued for decades and shaped an entire generation.
I was only a sophomore in high school when it happened. I remember sitting in geometry class when our school went into lockdown, watching the events unfold on television, and eventually being sent home. At that age, there was no way I could have understood how much that day would change our country or how it would eventually intersect with my own life.
Five years later, I joined the National Guard. I would eventually serve in both Iraq and Afghanistan as part of a generation that spent more than two decades at war. I did not join because of 9/11, but the military I joined and the conflicts my generation was asked to fight were undeniably shaped by what happened that day.
For someone who wasn't alive to experience it, I would want them to remember that behind the dates, wars, and history lessons are real people. Thousands lost their lives on September 11, and countless service members, first responders, families, and communities continued to carry the impact of that day for many years afterward.
September 11 may be history to a younger generation, but for many of us, it is something we lived through, and its effects became part of our lives.”
Twenty-five years later, I remember...
“Twenty-five years later, I remember being a 10th-grade student sitting in geometry class, watching something unfold that I couldn't possibly understand would change our country for decades to come.
I remember watching the second plane hit and being sent home from school, never imagining that five years later I would put on a military uniform, or that my own journey would eventually take me to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Twenty-five years later, I remember those who lost their lives that day, those who answered the call in the years that followed, and those who never made it home. I remember the sacrifices that continued long after September 11, 2001.
Most importantly, I remember that behind every number is a person, behind every person is a family, and behind every sacrifice is a story that deserves to be remembered.”
Thank you, Donald, for sharing your story and reminding us that the impact of September 11 did not end on that day. It followed a generation into military service, through years of war, and home again.
25 veterans. 25 stories. 25 years later.
We remember. We honor. We serve.
