Where were you and what were you doing on Sept. 11, 2001?

The historical day produced a slogan, “Never Forget” and it is a part of our American culture.

It’s hard to imagine it was 20 years ago. I just read an article on NPR from this week that said, “Two more victims of the 9/11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center have been identified in New York City. Victims 1,646 and 1,647 identified through ongoing DNA analysis of unidentified remains recovered from the disaster that claimed 2,753 lives.

I distinctly remember that day when I woke up (was unemployed at the time) and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I turned on the radio and I heard the words, “planes have crashed into the World Trade Center buildings”. I ran to the TV and turned it on and to my shock there was a video image of the buildings on fire.

The phone rang and I ran to answer it and on the other end was my wife at the time saying, “Happy anniversary darling!” We had been married just six years earlier on Friday, Sept. 11.

I said to her, “Um, have you not seen what’s going on in New York right now?” She said, “No, not really. I heard something about a fire or something. What’s going on?”

So as I was telling her I was watching live video of the two skyscrapers burning, the first building began to fall. “Oh my God, one of the buildings is collapsing,” I said to her.

I told her I needed to call her back and I hung up the phone. My eyes were glued to that TV and I began pacing around my living room. “What is going on?” I kept asking myself.

Though unemployed, I was still doing freelance graphic design and illustration and as I watched the news broadcasts, I began getting dressed for an appointment with a client in Rockford. The truth of the plane crashes began to emerge and the newscasters started filling in the blanks by tellings us viewers who may have been responsible for the attacks.

I remember leaving my home and getting in my car and being aware of how quiet things were on the outside. No planes in the air and it felt like no birds were flying either. It was stone silent. Very few vehicles on the road.

It wasn’t until hours later that Osama Bin Laden’s face began appearing on TV screens and it was my first glimpse at the man deemed responsible for the attacks. I remember asking myself, “Who are you that you would mastermind such cruelty on humanity?” “How can there be such hatred for Americans that one would perpetrate such a horrific atrocity?”

It was surreal to watch the Twin Towers collapse and heartbreaking to see images of first responders covered head to toe in dust, searching through the debris in Manhattan

Another thing I do remember about that day and the weeks and months ahead was the incredible patriotism that emerged from the ashes of that act of wickedness. People sprung up and began buying American flags and started focusing on home life and time spent with family. Church attendance grew and people learned to be resilient and not become complacent. Pride and love for our nation skyrocketed. 

Twenty years later, is that pride and love for America still there?

This nation has been blessed by the thousands of patriots—past and present—who have served in the Armed Forces, Homeland Security, national intelligence community, law enforcement, and as first responders. This Patriot’s Day, Sept. 11, 2021, let’s never forget that day 20 years ago and the people involved. Let’s renew our commitment to seek patriotic unity and to reach out to our neighbors to reestablish friendships that may have been lost.

God Bless America!