On September 11, 2001, the American way of life was blown to pieces. Not since Pearl Harbor had the country fallen victim to an act of foreign terror, and never one aimed at civilians. As the Twin Towers fell, clouds of debris choked the air for miles. As those particles began to soak into U.S. soil, they sprouted their seeds of fear, the terrorists' calling card.

Both our leaders and the public went hunting for someone to blame, someone to pin it on, someone who could serve as the target for all of our hurt, anger and, yes, fear. Now, nearly seven years later, do we feel safe again? Or are there just new enemies with new weapons and the fight-to-the-death intensity that comes when someone is fighting for their homeland?

Army Spc. Brian Eskew realized, not minutes after the Towers fell, that the world was shifting, and he was going to be ordered to serve wherever President Bush, the Armed Forces or anyone of higher rank decided to send him. This Vermonter describes himself as truly patriotic. To him, the war in Iraq was not a patriotic mission.

His brutally honest account speaks for the thousands of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, who are all serving their country, but all want to come home. Watch it here: