-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When Charles Wolf watched President Obama 's speech on Afghanistan , he nearly broke down in tears . He does n't have a son or daughter headed off to war . But to him , his wife of 12 years was a war casualty : She was killed on September 11 . When Obama described the attacks `` and he described how the whole world was with us , it emotionally took me right back to that moment , '' Wolf said . `` It was all I could do to keep from totally losing it . '' Wolf 's wife , Katherine , worked as an executive assistant for Marsh & McLennan on the 97th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center 's Twin Towers . She sent an e-mail just two minutes before the first plane hit . `` Her office took a direct hit by the plane , and she was vaporized . There was nothing ever found of her , '' Wolf said . It 's been eight years since the attacks of September 11 killed 2,976 people . A lot of memories have faded , Wolf said , but he still thinks of the little things : `` holding her hand , falling asleep next to her , waking up next to her , the companionship , the partnership . '' `` She was great . '' And so Wolf was glued to his television Tuesday for Obama 's speech . He wanted to hear from the president how the nation is going to finish the job in what Wolf calls `` the womb of 9/11 . '' `` To address these issues , '' Obama said , `` it is important to recall why America and our allies were compelled to fight a war in Afghanistan in the first place . We did not ask for this fight . On September 11 , 2001 , 19 men hijacked four airplanes and used them to murder nearly 3,000 people . `` They struck at our military and economic nerve centers . They took the lives of innocent men , women and children without regard to their faith or race or station . Were it not for the heroic actions of the passengers on board one of those flights , they could have also struck at one of the great symbols of our democracy in Washington and killed many more . '' Those words brought it all home : the memories of his wife with the beautiful smile and short-cropped red hair . `` I was biting my lip , '' he said . That said , Wolf is critical of the president 's strategy , mostly his announcement to begin withdrawing the American contingent in July 2011 . `` That is a tactical and strategic mistake , '' he said . `` If you 're playing chess , do you tell your opponent your next move ? `` To broadcast that for the sake of politics , to me , that is very wrong . '' And so he was divided : pleased about the renewed commitment to the Afghanistan war but upset by the planned pullout date . iReport : Share your views on Afghanistan Veteran New York firefighter Lee Ielpi lost his son , Jonathan , a fellow firefighter , on September 11 . `` I support President Obama 's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan and the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban , '' he said . A combat veteran of Vietnam , Ielpi added , `` The president and Congress need to ensure America has a clear strategy for our military in order to not repeat the strategic mistakes of Vietnam . I also strongly believe our country needs to do more to support returning veterans . '' The office of Joe Daniels overlooks ground zero , an every-day reminder of what happened on September 11 , 2001 . He was standing outside the Twin Towers when they were hit . Daniels is now the president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum , charged with the monumental task of building a living tribute to those who perished that day . `` In the aftermath of 9/11 , there were a lot of citizens who signed up to do what they felt was a patriotic duty to respond to what happened , and many of them went to Afghanistan , '' Daniels said . `` So I think it 's important that we do n't forget that the history of 9/11 is still being written . There are still a lot of important things that have to be done in Afghanistan . '' He added , `` After the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center , we lapsed into complacency . And to have a focus on finishing what needs to be done , I think , is important . We ca n't fall back into that sense of isolation and complacency . '' Wolf agreed . By returning in force to Afghanistan , he said , `` We are going in now to keep ourselves from being attacked again . `` This is not a war of choice , '' Wolf said . `` This is a war of necessity . '' He hopes the American people understand that . It 's why he can hardly speak when he sees U.S. soldiers in uniform . `` I am so grateful of the fact that they will lay their lives on the line for us , '' he said . For military families who will soon send their loved ones off to Afghanistan , Wolf said , `` Thank you . It 's all you can say . Thank you for making the decision to do it . Thank you for loving your country . '' `` I just ask every person out there if it was your wife who went to work one day and never came home , '' he said , `` would you do anything to make sure it does n't happen again ? '' Wolf paused at the end of the conversation and said simply : `` We have to remember 9/11 . ''