For many the September 11th attacks brought a call to military service

(WXYZ) - While the nation pauses and remembers the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001, for Americans remembering has become a way of life.

The attacks spawned the war on terror and now nearly a decade later. Members of the military continue to put their lives on the line in hopes of preventing another attack.

There's a saying in the military, “Ours’ is not to reason why, Ours’ is but to do or die.” When you’re given an order you follow it, whether you like it or not.

But when the terrorist attacked America and our way of life, there were men and women lining up to be told where to go and what to do.

Just about anyone old enough to remember the date September 11th, 2001, remembers where they were and what they were doing when the attack began.

“There was a commotion downstairs and some of the men were saying the World Trade Center's been hit,” says Nathan Boychuck. “The hair on the back of my neck kind of stood up, so I was thinking, ‘Oh wow, we're under attack.’"

At the time, Boychuck was an electrician living his version of the American dream. He didn't have to join the military - the attacks compelled him to do just that.

He says, “My pride, my patriotism took over and that's when I walked into the Marine Corps recruiting office and signed up.”

Since enlisting Boychuck has been to Iraq twice. He’s now a Sergeant, serving as a recruiter, helping the next round of men and women answer the call of duty. Of course there are those who answered the call literally.

Dave Hoger remembers, "I'm thinking it was later on that day at work. I received a call at work. He talked to me and he told me to be prepared, to get ready we're going to be meeting at the armory.”

Hoger was honorably discharged from the army a decade prior to the attacks. On September 11th, 2001 he was a member of the National Guard, a branch of the military that had not historically engaged in conflicts over seas.

“We're supposed to stay home for tornados, floods, anything to help out with in the state where you live,” Hoger says.

But 9/11 changed that and Hoger says he didn't have a problem with it.

"They came from the air and they came at Washington and all these different things took place and in my heart was - I wanted to be there,” he says.

At the time, Hoger was working in the flooring industry. But as he watched those planes hit the World Trade Center he knew he had more important work to do.

He says, “I definitely wanted to be part of it, regardless of the outcome, I wanted to be there.”

He would get the opportunity, but in the course of defending the nation, He suffered a debilitating brain injury when an IED went off near his vehicle.

Hoger says, “I moved the steering wheel to the front windshield with my body and with my head, I shattered a bullet proof glass windshield.”

Dave’s lucky to be alive and he knows that. But there’s a part of him that still wants to be back in fight and he couldn't be happier that the mastermind behind the attacks has breathed his last breath.

He says, "He can't come at us from the bottom of the ocean where they threw him overboard”.

The Sunday will mark the ten year anniversary of those vicious attacks and since they occurred, other than the victims and their families, no other group has been affected more by the events that took place 10 years ago than the American military who continue to fight the war on terror.