Remember the attacks of 9/11
Never forget, we shall always remember
Alan Jackson asked it perfectly, “Where were you when the world stopped turning?”
It has been 20 years since the terrorist attack that took the lives of so many people. Life for everyone completely changed after that. Whether you weren't born yet, you were a kid, or you were an adult, no one can say their lives were not impacted by this event.
“I was at the office when someone came into Town Hall and said we should turn on the news; that a plane had hit the World Trade Center,” Justin Carnagey, former Goodwell Police Chief and present Guymon 9-1-1 Operator Coordinator, recalls about this tragic day. “I turned on the TV and put in a VCR tape and started recording the news coverage as it unfolded live. The images were horrific and my thoughts instantly went to what the emergency responders were dealing with at the scene.”
Carnagey was a police officer who worked the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Seeing the events of 9/11 unfold brought forth a lot of emotions from that domestic terrorism attack and made the wounds feel fresh six years later.
“As far as changes, we all learned how fragile our world is and that evil does exist. Being an EMT and police officer, the biggest change I saw was a change in our training. Both Federal and State agencies formed Homeland Security offices. A lot of training was devoted to Incident Command Training, Bio-Terrorism Training and interoperability of radio and communication systems across different disciplines of public safety making sure agencies could communicate with each other on the scenes of major events,” he said. “Agencies not having compatible radio systems proved to be a major problem during 9/11, with each agency not being able to communicate with each other or warn others of the impending hazards. After 9/11 plain language was also promoted on radio systems so when agencies were talking to each other there was clear communications. NIMS (National Incident Management System) was a set of courses designed by FEMA/Homeland Security that required most in government and all responders to be trained in ICS (Incident Command Systems).”
Jenny Carnagey, Justin Carnagey's wife and former nurse and paramedic at Memorial Hospital at Texas County, went to several bio-terrorism courses and then became HAZWOPPER certified for decontamination of individuals impacted by chemicals or other pathogens.
For those who weren't around when the attacks happened, it is an event that they are taught about in the history books. While they may not have been around to see the events and aftermath firsthand, it is a lesson that is being taught in school.
“We spend the entire day in every class learning about it and watching documentaries,” Zoey Smith and Anna Graham said.
According to Smith and Graham, on the days leading up to the anniversary, in their classes discussion took place about the importance of the event and what happened on that day.
“Something that changed were airports, there is more protection because beforehand we didn't think something like that could happen but now we are more prepared,” Zoey Smith said.
In movies and TV shows made before the 9/11 terror attacks, you can see how easy it was just to walk to the gate or not go through so much security.
Kids, did you know that we didn't used to have the same airport security? No matter what age you were, someone could have walked you all the way to the gate. Nowadays, you have to go through so many steps just to be able to go to your gate.
“The biggest and what should be remembered is how the country came together unified against what had happened, supporting responders, the military, and each other,” Justin and Jenny Carnagey said.