Remember 9/11 - Never shall we forget
20 years ago our world changed forever as soon as the first plane hit the North Tower at the Trade Center. Within a few hours, thousands of lives were lost – a total of four planes had fallen from the sky - and endless confusion spread far and wide. At the time, I was only 15 years old – the same age as my oldest is now – and I had no idea what this truly meant. I knew an attack had taken place and it was inevitable that a war had begun, but I don't think the true weight of the events hit until I grew up and had a family of my own.
The nation was hurting, fear was spreading faster than answers could be provided. On that day, and in the days and weeks to follow, it didn't seem to matter where you were when the attacks happened, the pain was real and the hurt was deep. A sense of patriotism, of unity, of love was evident as support for the military grew bountifully, American flags went up everywhere and communities grieved together. For the first time, in a long time, the world seemed to be unified and mourning the lives lost.
“I was in math class. I remember the sadness and how scared everyone instantly was. So many people were lost that day,” Vanna Carlin, veteran and Big Spring resident, said. “Also because of that day so many of us chose to serve our country. It is so important to remember 9/11 because of the lives lost; how Americans came together, and how this was the beginning of a war that so many of us would serve in and also
so many lives would be lost. This is a day that changed my life forever.”
For the first time in a long time an attack was taking place on American soil. The planes didn't only attack in New York taking out the Twin Towers, but the Pentagon was hit and numerous lives were lost in the plane that went down in a Pennsylvania field. Heroism rose up that day across the nation and continued for years to come. For days after the attack, the skies were clear as all planes were grounded; and first responders from all states sent resources to shift through the rubble.
“My heart skipped a beat that day, and I was frighten for us as a nation. Watching the horror unfold on TV in New York was so sad and yet, I knew we were going to war with these evil and wicked people. I will never, ever forget that day,” Allen Nichols, Howard County resident, said.
Airport security and the nature of travel has forever been changed due to those attacks.
In the weeks to follow pictures began to emerge, phone calls were released, and so many people's final moments on this earth were shared with the world. There were thousands of first responders that sacrificed their lives that day doing what they took on oath to do; men and women rushed in as many were trying to get out to ensure that the lives that could be saved were saved.
Fast forward a few years later and the reminder of that horrific day was presented before me once again, as I stepped into my Ethics in Mass Communication class at West Texas A&M University. The first major event that we were presented with was 9/11 … what would you do? How would you have covered that event? Two questions that I couldn't answer … it's the tragic loss of human life and that is a sacred moment that should only be grieved by the family, but it was an attack that shook our nation and the world as we knew it so every detailed – every minor detail – of that day and the days to follow mattered. It was a story that was meant to be shared. The photos that captured the final moments of thousands of people's lives were once again placed before me, but this time I was being asked would I have taken that photo? Would I have chosen to film the destruction and then share it with all the world?
There is a fine line when it comes to the tragic events such as 9/11, but it is a story that deserves to be told; a story that deserves to be honored; a story never to be forgotten. I lived through that day while many others didn't and sitting on that college campus and remembering what I felt as I first heard the news as I sat in a high school math class, the passion that I never knew existed would stir inside me and the importance of every person's story became my driving force.
Every person who was alive that day and lives to remember the tragic events carries a piece of that day with them. There is a lesson, a memory, a feeling that we each can't ever really shake. Big Spring Herald reporter Roger Cline shares his take on the memory that day has left on him:
In September of 2001, I was 31 years old. Six months earlier I had met the love of my life and moved to Colorado City, Texas. I had worked as a newspaper reporter before, at the Port Arthur News – Port Arthur is my hometown and where my parents still live today – and for six months at the Mid-valley Bureau of the Mcallen Monitor, stationed in Weslaco, Texas.
In Weslaco, I felt more alone than I ever had in my life. I knew nobody outside of the two guys I worked with – my boss and one other reporter. I delved deep into the online universe, and met Shirley Wyrosdick Limones. She was 11 years my senior, but we found something in each other, and were set to be married September 22.
That impending marriage was the big item on my radar. Shirley and her family were in charge of the wedding. I made a few minor contributions. I invited groomsmen and best man – my brother Marty Cline. I chose the groom's cake – dark chocolate with cherry pie filling in between the layers and on top. And I was plotting the honeymoon – a surprise to my bride – which turned out to be a B&B in Fredericksburg. It was nice and within our budget.
September 11 was a fairly average day, given those background items. I had just arrived at work when I heard the news that a plane had hit a building in New York. It was mildly interesting. For some reason, I pictured some small plane – a cropduster (what would a cropduster be doing in New York City?) or some crazy man's private one-seater. In no way did I envision a huge passenger jumbo jet...nor did I picture one of the most iconic buildings in that city's history.
Of course, in the few minutes between the first and second wreck, I didn't think a whole lot about it. A plane crash. They happen all the time. This one was somewhat unique because of what it hit, but nothing else, and nothing related to me or my life.
Seventeen minutes later, all that changed. Another one? What? They read that wrong. Why would two planes hit the same building so close together? Of course, within just seconds, it dawned on me, as I'm sure it did on everyone. We were under attack. This wasn't some random, mildly interesting accident after all. It had just replaced the Challenger Space Shuttle explosion as the most significant disaster during my lifetime. And it wasn't over yet.
Half an hour later, another one hit the Pentagon. The airlines were shut down. Nobody was allowed to fly. Not that I was flying, but this is America – important people are flying all the time. It's how America works. America is broken if nobody is flying.
Another half hour, another crash. This time, not into a major iconic American building, but in a field in Pennsylvania. What was the point of that? Why did the terrorists attack an empty field? Only later did we learn about the struggle inside that plane and the heroism of its passengers.
As the timeline of the various crashes played out through the morning, there was also the fire and inevitable collapse of the World Trade Center buildings, and the loss of the thousands of Americans trapped inside.
At the time, I felt very lucky that no one I knew was on board one of those planes, or worked at the World Trade Center or Pentagon. I know it was a selfish thought. For me, a few phone calls were all it took to confirm that no one I knew was physically affected by the attack, but we were all spiritually affected. We vowed to avenge the fallen. We vowed never to forget.
I guess no one who was around then has forgotten that day, now 20 years gone. But there are a lot of people who are younger than 20 years old, or who were just infants when it happened. They haven't forgotten, exactly; they just never knew about it in the first place. It's hard to express feelings of shock, horror, disbelief, outrage, anger, through a history book or a newsreel. Look back at the newsreel of the Hindenburg Disaster.
“Oh, the humanity!”
Think about how you feel watching that newsreel, and then think about how a 15-yearold feels looking at the film of 9/11. There's no way it can have the immediacy for them that it has for someone that lived through it. That's just how time works, I guess.
September 11, 2001 won't be forgotten, but time is already working on it, wearing down the rough edges. There will be other disasters, just as there will be other triumphs, other innovations and discoveries, other crimes. Other events that will always be remembered. Other news. That's why we're here.
As we look back on the event that has been marked down in history books may we never forget the lives lost that day, the sacrifices made on American soil, and may we once again remember the unity that we had in the days and weeks following. We stand united in the most horrific of tragedies that my generation has experienced and we learn. We learn that as long as we stand united, no matter the damage, we can recover, we will rebuild, and we shall never forget.