It’s 3 a.m.: Taking the Day Back 25 Years After Losing Dwayne on 9/11 is Not Easy
3 A.M. on September 11: Taking the Day Back Is Not Easy
By Silver Fox Twin Roy Williams
It’s nearly 3 a.m. on September 11, 2026.
The morning of the most horrific day of my life.
Today marks 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 Americans, including my oldest brother, Army Major Dwayne Williams.
I woke up unable to sleep.
The images I can’t escape every year are flooding my mind again.
The Twin Towers falling.
The Pentagon on fire after another hijacked plane struck the building where Dwayne worked.
The phone calls to my brother going unanswered.
And then the agonizing 10 days of uncertainty before we finally learned that Dwayne was dead.
My life as I knew it changed forever.
Twenty-five years later, the pain remains.
No matter how much I smile. No matter how much I laugh. No matter how much I act like I have it all together.
Today, I know I don’t.
And that’s OK.
Because this is a day that still hurts.
Yet I have a long day ahead.
I’ll spend part of today sharing Dwayne’s story with volunteers at a 9/11 event in Birmingham. Then I’ll travel home to Jacksonville to host a 25th Anniversary tribute at the Pentagon Memorial dedicated to my brother.
I’m honored to do it.
But I also know it won’t be easy.
The Guilt That Comes With Surviving
There’s another emotion I still wrestle with: guilt.
I’ve been blessed to watch my children grow into adulthood.
Dwayne’s children were only 17 and 13 when their father was taken from them.
I got to be there for milestones, birthdays and everyday moments.
Their father didn’t.
My wife Patrice and I will celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary on September 14.
Dwayne’s marriage never got the chance to reach that milestone.
A cowardly act of terrorism took that future away from him, his wife, his children and our entire family.
That hurts too.
So Why Take the Day Back?
Because I refuse to let September 11 be remembered only for how Dwayne died.
I want people to remember how he lived.
Dwayne was my big brother.
He was a soldier.
He was a husband and father.
He was a friend, a teammate and a man who touched countless lives.
That is the story I want to tell.
That is why I created Take the Day Back Williams Legacy Campaign.
But let me be honest:
Taking the day back doesn’t mean taking the pain away.
It means choosing what I will focus on despite the pain.
Today, I will remember Dwayne.
I will honor his service.
I will hug my family a little tighter.
I will go home to Jacksonville.
And I will stand at his memorial and tell his story.
The nation remembers how he died.
But we will never forget how he lived.
Lord, give me the strength to get through today.
Twenty-five years later, I’m still taking the day back.
And this journey is not easy.
🇺🇸🙏🏽
Comments