Skip to main content

NASTC - National Association of Small Trucking Companies

The Best Americans I Know!


The following letter was widely published in the days following 9/11. We’ve had many requests for copies of this letter over the years so we thought we’d share it with you again.

In many ways, our world will never be the same since the shocking attack by terrorists on our people on September 11th.  At first we watched with disbelief as the events of the day unfolded, horrified by what we saw but still somewhat detached, as if somehow it were not quite real.  It just couldn’t be real; this couldn’t be happening to us.  As the brutal reality of the day began to settle upon us, the weight was overwhelming.  How could we bear this?  We prayed.  We cried.  We became angry.  We were overcome by a collective sadness that I have never seen in my lifetime and hope to never see again.  We listened to our leaders and waited for action.  Our nation prepares for war while we prepare our souls to endure the pain of war.  We try to carry on with our lives.  It is not easy but we must do it.  We must not give up.  Our leaders have asked us to go back to work and work hard, for it is hard work that made us the great nation we are.  Back to work we go, continuing to build the strongest nation in the history of mankind into a better, stronger nation still.

If hard work is the measure of a good American then I would like to salute the best Americans I know, the American Trucker.  While many of us tried to make sense of the terrible events of September 11th, the trucks kept rolling.  Delivering the things we need to continue with our lives, our food and clothing, the raw materials to keep our factories working, and the building materials we need to continue to build our nation.  Let’s don’t forget the medical supplies and emergency relief supplies that had to be delivered to the affected areas by trucks or the gasoline that we just can’t seem to live without.  Ask yourself this one question, “What kind of shape would this country be in if the trucks took a week off?”

Thankfully they did not stop.  Because even though the vast majority of the country doesn’t seem to think highly of trucks or truckers, the truckers know how important the job they do is to America.  Can you imagine what life without them would be like?

So while many of us gathered with our families and co-workers to watch endless hours of news and try to figure out what to do next, the trucks kept rolling.  Dealing with the same emotions with which we all struggled, drivers set it aside, climbed back up into their trucks and kept America moving.  They know how important it is.  I know how important it is.  I wish all Americans realized how important it is.  Atlas may hold up the world, but America rests on eighteen wheels and the square shoulders of the Best Americans I know, America’s Truckers.

I salute you all,

Buster Anderson

Vice President, NASTC

P.S.   Thanks for doing your part to keep America moving.