Remembering 9/11 is important

Sept. 11, 2001, remains on the mind of many High Plains residents, particularly those who remember the day as they can recall what they were doing when they turned on their television to watch the horror of a terrorist attack.

I have written before about sitting in my newspaper office in Abilene, Kansas, when on a busy morning, Pete Terres, one of the backshop employees at the Reflector-Chronicle, came to my office and told me I might want to turn on the small television because he had heard on the radio in the camera room about a plane hitting one of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City.

I turned on the TV and he was right, a plane hit at 8:46 a.m. (Eastern time) and shortly thereafter a second plane hit the second tower at 9:03 a.m., which could be seen live.

The rest of the day was a scramble, as myself and my co-workers tried to piece together what was going on while putting together a newspaper.

I was among the many Americans who soon found that two other attacks were undertaken including a jet that was supposed to strike the White House, but thankfully the brave actions from crew and travelers stopped the path and instead the plane crashed into a Pennsylvania field. There were no survivors. Another hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon.

According to 911memorial.org, 9/11 is shorthand for four coordinated attacks carried out by al-Qaeda, an Islamist extreme group, that occurred on that day.

“Nineteen terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes, deliberately crashing two of the planes into the upper floors of the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center complex and a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The Twin Towers ultimately collapsed because of the damage sustained from the impacts and the resulting fires. After learning about the other attacks, passengers on the fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93, fought back, and the plane was crashed into an empty field in western Pennsylvania about 20 minutes by air from Washington, D.C.

“The attacks killed 2,977 people from 90 nations: 2,753 people were killed in New York; 184 people were killed at the Pentagon; and 40 people were killed on Flight 93.”

Every time I see a clock at 9:11 or write a check that is dated Sept. 11 it makes me pause. Several generations ago my grandparents would pause on Dec. 7 as they remembered Dec. 7, 1941, for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor that led to our entry into World War II. That galvanized our country to work with our Allies and end the fighting with Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy.

For the younger generations, Sept. 11, 2001, galvanized our country’s resolve to beat al-Qaeda and rebuild our country.

Today as a country, we struggle to find common ground and even the simplest solutions can get bogged down in politics (rightfully or wrongfully). My hope is we never have another 9/11.

Both events were wake-up calls. Our entry into World War II came in spite of our isolationist view at the time. News of Nazi Germany’s genocide was arriving in newspapers in the home of Americans who were still dealing with the effects of the Great Depression.

Sept. 11, 2001, occurred because we missed the signals that terrorist activities had ramped up exponentially after the end of the Cold War. Among these signs was an earlier bombing by Islamic terrorists of the World Trade Center in 1993 that narrowly missed being more deadly. U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, the Kansas Republican better known for his work on House and Senate ag committees, had raised a warning several years before the attack that America was ignoring signs. Unfortunately, he was proven right and a bipartisan commission that studied the attacks pointed out our intelligence failures.

We were able to recover as a country because leaders demonstrated why it was important to drop the blame game and rebuild.

Hopefully we can all draw on that perspective so future generations will never experience another 9/11. When America is unified we are the strongest country and an undeniable force for good over evil.

Dave Bergmeier can be reached at [email protected] or 620-227-1822.