Memories of 9-11 attacks still haunt Army football head coach Jeff Monken 20 years later

WEST POINT – It was a typical Tuesday morning in the football coaching offices at Georgia Southern University, and that meant film review.

Back in 2001, Jeff Monken was a 34-year-old assistant coach in his fourth season on the Stateboro campus, and Paul Johnson was the head coach.

It was just before 9 a.m. on the morning of September 11 when the team's strength coach knocked on the door, poked his head in and broke the news of a plane crashing into one of the towers at the World Trade Center in New York. There was stunned belief among all the coaches in the room.

“We all kind of looked at each other and said that was crazy,’’ Monken said. “Not too much longer after that, he poked his head back in the door and said a plane hit the other tower. We all just were kind of stunned, maybe not knowing what to do.’’

The coaches resumed film study ahead of that weekend’s game with Wofford, but the shock was too great.

“We probably watched two more plays,’’ Monken said, “and I remember saying to everybody else, ‘Let's go find out what the heck's going on in our world right now. This is crazy.’ And we all just kind of trickled off to our offices.’’

At that time the coaches offices at Georgia State didn’t have the internet connections and cable television that they have today but news seeped in.

“We found out soon after that, like everybody else did, just what was going on and what a tragic event,’’ Monken said.

At West Point, some 865 miles north, the U.S. Military Academy post closed down immediately and athletic officials canceled that weekend’s game with the University at Buffalo. At Georgia Southern, there was an unsettled feeling of what lay ahead but life continued.

“Obviously we carried on that day and practiced and just didn't know what was going to happen,’’ Monken said. “We just didn't know what to do other than just trying to maintain a sense of normalcy.’ It wasn’t long before the game with Wofford – like most all sporting events across the nation – was canceled.

It wasn’t until later that Tuesday evening when practice broke up and Jeff Monken joined his wife, Beth, for a trip to the store.

“There was a TV on at the store,’’ Jeff said. “I stopped … it was the first images that I had of (the unfolding tragedy). I stood there for probably an hour and a half and just watched with my mouth open, just in utter disbelief.’’ He stayed up watching the news until 4 in the morning and then flipped on the TV first thing in the morning, still having a hard time grasping what had just happened to our nation.

“As an American and as a human being, just to see what was going through that suffering and just the attack on our country and all the emotion it goes with that … I think we all remember. … I think the feelings of patriotism from so many Americans really came out of that.’’

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Pro and college sports canceled events for most of the next week. Select high school events, even in Section 9, resumed that weekend, including a poignant candlelight ceremony at Washingtonville High School. Monken said it was important to honor the dead, protect the homeland and return life as we knew it prior to the attacks.

“The importance of getting back to normal (was a) sense of message about who we are as a nation, that we're not going to be held hostage by an invisible enemy,’’ Monken said.

Much like the reaction following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, there was a surge in enlistment into the armed services.

“I think that's one of the great things about the spirit of this country,’’ Monken said. “When we feel attacked as a country, we come together and we really want to protect our freedom, our democracy and who we are as a nation.’’

It was Monken’s final season at Georgia Southern and he followed Johnson to Navy for the next six seasons. In 2014, Monken took over the head coaching job at Army. In his 13 years serving at two prestigious military academies, Monken has embraced the warrior spirit of his student-athletes.

“The great thing about our country (is) the resolve and the grit and the toughness that's the backbone of our nation, and there's no better example of that than our military.

“I’m certain that the young men and women that were here at West Point at the time, they were ready to go (to war). And if somebody said, ‘Hey, we're going to go get the people that did this, they would have been the first one standing in line to go do it, and that's what I admire about young men on our team and all the young men and women that attend West Point who have made this commitment to serve. They know what the job description is and they willfully do it. It’s incredible that we've got young men and women that continue to have that spirit to serve. It’s our military, regardless of the branching they volunteered, they said ‘I want to do this.’ … This is where they belong, this is what they’re committed to, so it's just an honor and a privilege to be a part of this institution and to lead this football team.’’

kmcmillan@th-record.com

Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR