20th 9.11 Anniversary 2001-2021

A N N I V E R S A R Y 2001

A SPECIAL PRODUCT OF

SEPTEMBER 2021

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BY ERIC VANSICKLE Prior to 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, it was a typical early morning in New York City.

Commuters were headed to their jobs, parents were taking their children to school or daycare, and most everyone else were going about their routines on this late-summer day.

But when the first of two passenger jets slammed into the south tower of the World Trade Center, followed by the second into the north, the tide of American history turned.

Over the next several hours, New Yorkers and the rest of the world witnessed as the Twin Towers eventually tumbled to the ground, killing nearly 3,000, including hundreds of first responders.

In the years after the rubble was cleared, the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum was constructed at the site of where once the twin towers stood.

The complex opened on the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

It was dedicated on May 15, 2014, by President Barack Obama. In his remarks, President Obama called the memorial “ a sacred place of healing and hope.”

“Here, at this memorial, this museum, we come together,” Obama said. “We stand in the footprints of two mighty towers, graced by the rush of eternal waters. We look into the faces of nearly 3,000 innocent souls -men and women and children of every race, every creed, and every corner of the world. We can touch their names and hear their voices and glimpse the small items that speak to the beauty of their lives. A wedding ring. A dusty helmet. A shining badge.

He continued: “Here we tell their story, so that generations yet unborn will never forget. Of coworkers who led others to safety. Passengers who stormed a cockpit. Our men and women in uniform who rushed into an inferno. Our first responders who charged up those stairs. A generation of servicemembers -- our 9/11 Generation -- who have served with honor in more than a decade of war. A nation that stands tall and united and unafraid -- because no act of terror can match the strength or the character of our country.

Like the great wall and bedrock that embrace us today, nothing can ever break us; nothing can change who we are as Americans….”

“Those we lost live on in us,” Obama said. “In the families who love them still. In the friends who remember them always. And in a nation that will honor them, now and forever.”

Each year on the anniversary of 9/11, the families of victims gather on the 9/11 Memorial Plaza for a commemorative ceremony. The names of the 2,983 men, women, and children who perished in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and those who died in the February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, are read out loud.

Six moments of silence punctuate the ritual -- when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck; when each tower fell; when the plane crashed

BY JOANN COCKING Managing editor A street corner collection organized by two local women have raised more than $5,500 for relief efforts for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Kathleen Margevich and Kim Burch of Hoopeston spearheaded the two-day collection Thursday and Friday, with assistance from more than 40 individuals and businesses around the area.

The campaign raised $5,570.18. The money has been sent to the Chicago Tribune. Disaster Relief Fund, an effort of the McCormick Foundation, which will match all contributions at 50 cents on the dollar.

“With the Tribune matching funds. that means the total contributed on behalf of Hoopeston will be $8,355.17,”

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The National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City has two waterfall pools set in the footprint of the former Twin Towers. The water flows into the 30-foot-deep structures for about 20 feet before falling into a central void.

A memorial glade was opened on May 30, 2017, to honor those who were either sickened or have died from the toxins in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. at the Pentagon, and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

A year and a half after the attacks, in April 2003, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation created a contest to choose a design for a permanent memorial as part of the group’s effort to revitalize the World Trade Center area after 9/11.

Out of more than 5,000 submissions from 63 countries, in January of 2004, a 13-person jury chose a design by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker called “Reflecting Absence.”

Their work features twin waterfall pools surrounded by bronze parapets inscribed with the victims of the attacks as well as those who died in the earlier bombing of the complex in 1993.

The pools are set in a plaza surrounded by more than 400 swamp white oak trees.

Each of the pools measures an acre in size and fits in the footprints of the former Twin Towers. The pools are set 30 feet deep, and then the water flows another 20 feet before disappearing in smaller voids in the center of each.

The pools represent “absence made visible,” according to the architect, as quoted on the museum’s website.

While the design allows the water to flow into the voids, they can never be filled.

Meanwhile, the parapets around the north pool have the names inscribed of those who died in the North Tower’s collapse, on American Airlines Flight 11 and those who were killed in the 1993 bombing.

The south pool identifies those who were killed in the

South Tower, on United Airlines Flight 175 and the first responders who died in response, along with the victims from the Pentagon, American Flight 77 and United Flight 93.

Alongside swamp oaks, which are native to the New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia areas, there stands a single Callery pear tree.

Recovery workers discovered the tree among the rubble in October 2011 severely damaged.

New York City Parks and Recreation Department workers removed the tree from Ground Zero and nursed it back to health before returning it to the site in 2010. As it survived the attack, locals dubbed it the Survivor Tree.

In the southwest quadrant of the facility, a glade was established that opened May 30, 2017, to honor those who were sickened or have died from the toxins that resulted from the attacks. Those include first re-

sponders and recovery workers not only in New York but also at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, along with relief workers and volunteers, World Trade Center survivors, and lower Manhattan residents, students and workers.

The 9/11 Memorial Glade also recognizes the determination and perseverance of those who were a part of the recovery process, according to the memorial’s website. It includes a pathway with six large stone monoliths, each inlaid with a remnant of the Twin Towers’ steel, symbolizing strength through adversity.

For more information about the National 9/11 Memorial, go to 911memorial.org, where you can also take virtual tours and buy tickets to the adjacent museum. The memorial is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, while the museum is open the same hours from Thursday through Monday.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the National September 11 Memorial & Museum dedication ceremony in New York, N.Y., May 15, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

&RPPXQLW\ VKRZV KRZ PXFK LW FDUHV From the Sept.

26, 2001 edition of The Chronicle

September, 2021

Margevich said. “That’s fantastic and it shows how much people here really care.” Margevich said the collection volunteers also passed out more than 2,200 red, white and blue lapel ribbons to passersby.

“People are encouraged to continue to wear the ribbons daily to show their patriotism,” she said. Volunteers who helped with the collection effort included the Chuck Crozier family, Tina Samet and family, Cathy Moore, Marty and Carol Kloska, Andrea Wilson, Shannon Beaty, Larissa Crozier, Ginger Samet, Ernesto and lrasema Saldana, Dwight Judy, Linda Martin, Barb Park, Deb Lankford, Chris Pearson, Rita Pearson, Amanda Burch, Tony Burch, Mary Lou Brackmann, JoAnn Gocking, Nikki Davis, Bernie Deany, Paige Brown, Katie Brown, Jenna Brown, Jane Rowe, Kathy Young, Lynn Wyss, Sandy Crothers, Angie Grove, Cody Roark, Sandra Samet, Chris

Chronicle photo/Mary Lou Brackmann Sandy Crothers and Cathy Moore got in the patriotic spirit while collecting money for disaster relief at the corner of Routes 1 and 9 in Hoopeston.

Oyer, Penny Gaddis, Christy Byers, Chelsea Rowe, Diana Blincoe. Ann Potter, Connie Huffman, Callie Huffman, Brian Huffman, Emily Margevich, Steve Margevich and the staff of Kankakee Federal Savings Bank.

“I also want to thank WHPO for plugging for volunteers for

us all week, The Chronicle for all their help, and Kankakee Federal for helping count all the money,” Margevich said.

Donations can still be made to the Tribune Foundation Disaster Relief Fund. For more information, call 800-9999005.

Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Cuomo, honored guests, families of the fallen.

In those awful moments after the South Tower was hit, some of the injured huddled in the wreckage of the 78th floor.

The fires were spreading. The air was filled with smoke. It was dark, and they could barely see. It seemed as if there was no way out.

And then there came a voice -- clear, calm, saying he had found the stairs. A young man in his 20s, strong, emerged from the smoke, and over his nose and his mouth he wore a red handkerchief.

He called for fire extinguishers to fight back the flames. He tended to the wounded. He led those survivors down the stairs to safety, and carried a woman on his shoulders down 17 flights.

Then he went back. Back up all those flights. Then back down again, bringing more wounded to safety. Until that moment when the tower fell.

They didn’t know his name. They didn’t know where he came from. But they knew their lives had been saved by the man in the red bandana.

Again, Mayor Bloomberg; distinguished guests; Mayor de Blasio; Governors Christie and Cuomo; to the families and survivors of that day; to all those who responded with such courage -- on behalf of Michelle and myself and the American people, it is an honor for us to join in your memories. To remember and to reflect. But above all, to reaffirm the true spirit of 9/11 -- love, compassion, sacrifice -- and to enshrine it forever in the heart of our nation.

Michelle and I just had the opportunity to join with others on a visit with some of the survivors and families -- men and women who inspire us all. And we had a chance to visit some of the exhibits. And I think all who come here will find it to be a profound and moving experience.

I want to express our deep gratitude to everybody who was involved in this great undertaking -- for bringing us to this day, for giving us this sacred place of healing and of hope.

Here, at this memorial, this museum, we come together.

We stand in the footprints of two mighty towers, graced by the rush of eternal waters. We look into the faces of nearly 3,000 innocent souls -- men and women and children of every race, every creed, and every corner of the world. We can touch their names and hear their voices and glimpse the small items that speak to the beauty of their lives. A wedding ring. A dusty helmet. A shining badge.

Here we tell their story, so that generations yet unborn will never forget. Of coworkers who led others to safety. Passengers who stormed a cockpit. Our men and women in uniform who rushed into an inferno. Our first responders who charged up those stairs. A generation of servicemembers -- our 9/11 Generation -- who have served with honor in more than a decade of war. A nation that stands tall and united and unafraid -- because no act of terror can match the strength or the character of our country. Like the great wall and bedrock that embrace us today, nothing can ever break us; nothing can change who we are as Americans.

On that September morning, Alison Crowther lost her son Welles. Months later, she was reading the newspaper -- an article about those final minutes in the towers. Survivors recounted how a young man wearing a red handkerchief had led them to safety. And in that moment, Alison knew. Ever since he was a boy, her son had always carried a red handkerchief. Her son Welles was the man in the red bandana.

Welles was just 24 years old, with a broad smile and a bright future. He worked in the South Tower, on the 104th floor.

He had a big laugh, a joy of life, and dreams of seeing the world.

He worked in finance, but he had also been a volunteer firefighter. And after the planes hit, he put on that bandana and spent his final moments saving others.

Three years ago this month, after our SEALs made sure that justice was done, I came to Ground Zero. And among the families here that day was Alison Crowther. And she told me about Welles and his fearless spirit, and she showed me a handkerchief like the one he wore that morning.

And today, as we saw on our tour, one of his red handkerchiefs is on display in this museum. And from this day forward, all those who come here will have a chance to know the sacrifice of a young man who -- like so many -- gave his life so others might live.

Those we lost live on in us. In the families who love them still. In the friends who remember them always. And in a nation that will honor them, now and forever.

And today it is my honor to introduce two women forever bound by that day, united in their determination to keep alive the true spirit of 9/11 -- Welles Crowther’s mother Alison, and one of those he saved, Ling Young.

/RFDO IDPLOLHV LPSDFWHG E\ WHUURULVW WUDJHG\ From the Sept. 19, 2001 edition of The Chronicle

BY JOANN GOCKING Managing editor Last week’s terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington have touched the local area, too.

William Tselepis, the son-inlaw of David and Julie Christine, of Hoopeston, was among the thousands of Americans who died when the hijacked passenger jets struck the World Trade Center in New York City.

Tselepis worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm. His office was on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center. He and his wife, Mary, the Christines’ daughter, lived in New Providence, N.J. with their 3-year-old daughter, Katie.

The couple are also expecting a second child in early October.

Two sisters of Mary Tselepis, Rosellen Cornelius and Cyndi Yates, also reside in Hoopeston.

William Tselepis was origi-

nally from Berwyn, Ill. Cornelius said her family received confirmation on Sunday that her brother-in-law perished in the terrorist attack. The family plans a memorial service in New Jersey and funeral services at a later date in the Chicago area.

Many local residents have reported having friends or relatives who worked in Manhattan or the Pentagon.

Among those evacuated safely from the Pentagon was the granddaughter of an area woman. Cindy Lersten is the granddaugher of Martha Morlan of Cheneyville and the niece of Pam Whiteman of East Lynn. Lersten’s father is former Hoopeston resident Lloyd Griffon Jr. Whiteman said her niece worked in a section of the Pentagon which was not damaged during the terrorist attack. She is a civil service employee with the U.S. Department of Energy. and had just returned to the Washington area after two. years in Moscow.

REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

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5HPHPEHULQJ We asked readers on Community Media Group Facebook pages to share their memories of Sept. 11, 2001.

I had arrived home from Rome the day before and was adjusting to the time change when my family members started calling to see where I was. I turned on the TV to watch the second plane hit the tower. I learned later in the day that one of my friends from Oracle (where I worked at the time) was on the flight that went down in Pennsylvania. His name was Todd Beamer and he was the one that said “Let’s roll” when the passengers decided to take back the plane. Life and freedom are very special and neither should be taken for granted.

-Mark Alt I was in my 8th grade computer class, as we all huddled around the TV and cried. A good friend now was a Chef at ground zero making pizza for all the first responders.

-Jamie Lynn Holewinski It was a Tuesday. My day off.

Watching the news, I called for my wife to look at the news.

We thought it was a tragic accident. Just then the second plane hit. We knew it was terrorism.

Such a tragedy.

-Ed Edmonds I was in 8th grade home room when they turned on the TV. I remember no one talking just open mouthed and in shock.

Once the shock wore off I remember asking our teacher if this would end up causing war.

He said no. Not even 2 months later was the 1st attack over seas. He said well I guess I was wrong.

-Jamie Nicole Deitcher I was a sergeant in the US Army stationed at Fort Hood, TX. Just came into my office when my mom called me to ask if I knew what was going on. My bags were soon packed for deployment but I was never deployed.

-Matt Osborne I was driving to Danville health dept for work listening to the radio station. My husband was taking the kids to daycare for the day and she had it also on the radio.

-Karry Anderson-Hines I was taking my oldest to preschool and listening to “Don & Roma” on WLS when they started talking about a horrible accident in NYC involving a plane and the WTC. By the time I got to work, it was apparent it was not just an accident and I spent a good portion of my day and that evening (as well as the coming days) glued to my tv. I remember being so grief-stricken for people I didn’t know and for our country.

-Tanya Tovey I remember that day so clearly.

My new husband and I had moved to Lincoln, IL for him to go to school. He was out the door early that day to attend chapel at LCU and I was home setting up our new home with our 2 year old daughter. The cable guy showed up and was getting us all hooked up. When he came into the house and asked me to turn on the TV to make sure it was working, we stood there, two strangers side by side in my living room as the second tower fell. I remember when he left, I just sat in silence holding our daughter and feeling so scared and confused.

-Karen Shoufler Was working for the town of Hebron, doing crossing guard.

Had Mancow, a shock jock like personality, on the radio.

He starts screaming, yelling, crying turn on your tv, turn on your tv. I thought at first it was a cruel joke, but I ran in to town hall, turned on the tv, filled with disgust, horror, and immediate hatred and rage!! May God be with our great nation as we respect and remember those who lost their lives!!

-Lyn Gray

I was 8 years old. I remember my mother sitting on the edge of her seat watching as the towers fell, I was coloring on the floor. She said “Oh my God how could someone do this?” Me being a child not understanding replied “Mommy the planes just fell.” She then turned to me and explained what had happened. Being 8 years old, I could not fully comprehend the tragedy of it, just that it was very sad. I will always remember this day, and how my mother held me as she cried.

-Kelsey Lin Bugg I was in second grade. I remember them bringing the TV carts into every hallway and turning on the news. Every classroom emptied into the hallways and watched it all unfold and see the second tower get hit.

-Rylee Claus I was glued to my tv watching everything that day. One of my great nephews was working in the Pentagon and I was praying he was okay. I thank God, he was on the other side when that plane hit.

-Debbie Jenkins I was at my first Naval duty station at Diego Garcia. It was night time for us and it was broadcasted on the TVs. At first everyone thought this couldn’t be happening but sure enough it did and it was. We went to our respective areas and started preparing for the fallout of what was to come.

-Lorie Schneidt I was home and had workers here remodeling my kitchen.

I was in shock and disbelief over the events unfolding on the tv. Then I began praying for America and all those affected by the disaster.

-Pat Boldman I was working 911 Dispatch for the Newton County Sheriffs Department. It was a sad day.

-Melody Lahey

I was at our company headquarters in Northeast Ohio.

I remember seeing the towers crumble in disbelief. I was shocked and horrified by the attacks. I had just flown from Chicago to Cleveland and I was thinking that it could have happened on the plane I was on the same day that this horrific attack occurred.

-Troy Burton I had the day off, so I slept in, then ran some errands. The radio was on in the post office, and it sounded like Chicago traffic was chaos. The post mistress said it was some kind of terror attack, so I went home and watched the second tower come down. Spent the rest of the day in shock and prayer.

-MarySue Wilson: I was in highschool when it happened.. what I miss is the day and days after when america flags was being flown everywhere papers printed out full page of flags.

-Dusty Letson I remember I just got laid off and turned on the news and was in disbelief. I will never forget that awful day.

-Donna Lynn Ford I was in fifth grade; lesson plans were canceled as we watched the looping footage on the news. The senseless act that changed how my young eyes saw the world, set on repeat.

-Jordan Johnson I was in 3rd grade at Morocco Elementary. They made an announcement that something terrible had happened in NYC and that we would have to talk to our parents to know more. I don’t really remember how my mom told me, I think I saw a lot on the news. Fighter jets flew over our house that night.

-Samantha Glancy I remember it like it happened today. Just finished a midnight shift and stopped with friends

at the Venture Inn in Griffith.

We watched the second jet hit the other tower live. I remember the first thing I did was grab the pay phone and call my family. Horrific day in our history.

I can’t believe they’re some among us that choose to forget or dismiss this. I will never forget or forgive.

-John Bouse Sr. I was working in a hospital had to check on my oldest son (who was in Kindergarten) He was having some issues. I was on break and school was just down the street. On the way back it was on the radio and on the air the second tower was hit. It was hard to believe when the first plane hit they thought it was a accident but then the second hit the radio people where just in shock. I got back to the hospital and you could just feel it in the air. On every floor there where crowds around the TVS, People where crying. It was hard for me to do my rounds.

I worked in the food department and was retrieving the food carts. Each floor it was hard for me to not stop and see what was happening. . It was as if i had been kicked in the gut. I knew no one there but you just felt as a usa citizen you felt you lost many in your family. For days i was stuck on the news .

It was just heart felt and sad. I will always remember where i was that day.

-Ronald Hall I was in kindergarten when this happened but I can remember being in the lunch room and teachers were watching the TV they rolled into the cafeteria - Billie Lohrbach I was cleaning my back porch entry getting ready to host a meeting when I heard on the radio a plane had hit a tower in NY. I ran uti the livingroom and turned on the tv and there I remained for most of the day.

I did see the president fly over in the afternoon on his way to Omaha. I remember afterwards everywhere you looked you

saw an American flag flying.

- Pat Haskins I was driving to work with the radio on listening to Bob and Tom. Satire was flying, and Bob stopped and announced the 1st tower was hit. There was a tone and tremor to his voice that made me immediately realize it was real— not part of the skit. They continued the show with solemn messaging as the rest of the morning unfolded.

-Brenda Cockburn I was in 7th grade I walked into my history class when the bell rain our teacher began to tell us what was going on he then turned on CBS news radio and we listened to that for the rest of the hour then I got home and watched the news.

- John Gallahue I was driving to Carle to do open heart recoveries in the ICU when I heard the news.

All day long in the CVICU the news played on the TV in the patients rooms. We cried and worried if there would be an attempt in Chicago, would we get casualties as a level one trauma unit, would they attempt to hit U of Illinois because of housing Deep Blue computer. Security was tight at the hospital. Patients and their families cried, staff cried. We all held each other and supported each other on that horrible dark day.

- Lisa Dillon I was in college as a waitress.

My alarm went off, Mix 94.5, and I thought they were talking about some movie about to come out (there was a movie that wasn’t released due to the attack). As I rolled over, I turned on the TV and 3 min later, watched the second plane hit. I called my dad and asked him if he was watching the news. He said, “no. Should I be?” I said yes. He asked what channel and I replied it didn’t matter. Silence for what seemed like ever for him to Continued on page 4

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

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September, 2021

Historical Archive

3URFODPDWLRQ 3DWULRW 'D\ DQG 1DWLRQDO 'D\ RI 6HUYLFH DQG 5HPHPEUDQFH GEORGE BUSH September 13, 2001 On Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked America in a series of despicable acts of war. They hijacked four passenger jets, crashed two of them into the World Trade Center’s twin towers and a third into the Headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense at the Pentagon, causing great loss of life and tremendous damage. The fourth plane crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside, killing all on board but falling well short of its intended target apparently because of the heroic efforts of passengers on board. This carnage, which caused the collapse of both Trade Center towers and the destruction of part of the Pentagon, killed more than 250 airplane passengers and thousands more on the ground.

Civilized people around the world denounce the evildoers who devised and executed these terrible attacks. Justice demands that those who helped or harbored the terrorists be punished -- and punished severely.

The enormity of their evil demands it. We will use all the resources of the United States and our cooperating friends and allies to pursue those responsible for this evil, until justice is done.

We mourn with those who have suffered great and disastrous loss. All our hearts have been seared by the sudden and senseless taking of innocent lives.

We pray for healing and for the strength to serve and encourage one another in hope and faith.

Scripture says: “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” I call on every American family and the family of America to observe a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, honoring the memory of the thousands of victims of these brutal attacks and comforting those who lost loved ones. We will persevere through this national tragedy and per-

sonal loss. In time, we will find healing and recovery; and, in the face of all this evil, we remain strong and united, “one Nation under God.” NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim Friday, September 14, 2001, as a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for the Victims of the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001. I ask that the people of the United States and places of worship mark this National Day of Prayer and Remembrance with noontime memorial services, the ringing of bells at that hour, and evening candlelight remembrance vigils. I encourage employers to permit their workers time off during the lunch hour to attend the noontime services to pray for our land. I invite the people of the world who share our grief to join us in these solemn observances.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-sixth.

BARACK OBAMA September 10, 2013 Twelve years ago this month, nearly three thousand innocent men, women, and children lost their lives in attacks meant to terrorize our Nation.

They had been going about their day, harming no one, when sudden violence struck. We will never undo the pain and injustice borne that terrible morning, nor will we ever forget those we lost.

On September 11, 2001, amid shattered glass, twisted steel, and clouds of dust, the spirit of America shone through.

We remember the sacrifice of

strangers and first responders who rushed into darkness to carry others from danger. We remember the unbreakable bonds of unity we felt in the long days that followed -- how we held each other, how we came to our neighbors’ aid, how we prayed for one another. We recall how Americans of every station joined together to support the survivors in their hour of need and to heal our Nation in the years that followed.

Today, we can honor those we lost by building a Nation worthy of their memories. Let us also live up to the selfless example of the heroes who gave of themselves in the face of such great evil. As we mark the anniversary of September 11, I invite all Americans to observe a National Day of Service and Remembrance by uniting in the same extraordinary way we came together after the attacks.

Like the Americans who chose compassion when confronted with cruelty, we can show our love for one another by devoting our time and talents to those in need. I encourage all Americans to visit www.Serve.gov, or www.Servir.gov for Spanish speakers, to find ways to get involved in their communities.

As we serve and remember, we reaffirm our ties to one another. On September 11, 2001, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family. May the same be said of us today, and always.

By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has designated September 11 of each year as “Patriot Day,” and by Public Law 11113, approved April 21, 2009, the Congress has requested the observance of September 11 as an annually recognized “National Day of Service and Remembrance.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2013, as Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the

United States at half-staff on Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I invite the Governors of the United States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance. I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of those our Nation lost, to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m.

Eastern Daylight Time to honor the innocent victims who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this tenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand thirteen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-eighth.

DONALD TRUMP September 8, 2017 On Patriot Day, we honor the nearly 3,000 innocent lives taken from us on September 11, 2001, and all of those who so nobly aided their fellow citizens in America’s time of need.

We rededicate ourselves to the ideals that define our country and unite us as one, as we commemorate all the heroes who lost their lives saving others.

September 11, 2001, will forever be one of the most tragic days in American history.

Through the unimaginable despair, however, ordinary Americans etched into our history remarkable illustrations of bravery, of sacrifice for one another, and of dedication to our shared values. The shock from the indelible images of the smoke rising from the World Trade Center and Pentagon gave way to countless inspiring videos of

co-workers helping one another to safety; of heroes running into collapsing buildings to save the innocent people trapped within; and to the unforgettable story of the patriots who charged the cockpit of Flight 93 to save untold numbers of lives. These heroes moved us with their bravery. They make us proud to be Americans.

Throughout history, everyday Americans and first responders have done the extraordinary through selfless acts of patriotism, compassion, and uncommon courage. Not just in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, but across our great Nation, Americans on September 11, 2001, bound themselves together for the common good, saying with one voice that we will be neither scared nor defeated. The enemy attempted to tear at the fabric of our society by destroying our buildings and murdering our innocent, but our strength has not and will not waiver. Americans today remain steadfast in our commitment to liberty, to human dignity, and to one another.

It has been 16 years since the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Children who lost their parents on that day are now parents of their own, while many teenagers currently in high school learn about September 11th only from their history books. Yet all Americans are imbued with the same commitment to cause and love of their fellow citizens as everyone who lived through that dark day. We will never forget. The events of September 11, 2001, did not defeat us. They did not rattle us. They, instead, have rallied us, as leaders of the civilized world, to defeat an evil ideology that preys on innocents and knows nothing but violence and destruction.

On this anniversary, I invite all Americans to thank our Nation’s incredible service members and first responders, who are on the front lines of our fight against terrorism. We will always remember the sacrifices made in defense of our people, our country, and our freedom.

The spirit of service and self sacrifice that Americans so nobly demonstrated on September 11, 2001, is evident in the incredible

response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The same spirit of American patriotism we movingly witnessed on September 11th has filled our hearts as we again see the unflinching courage, compassion, and generosity of Americans for their neighbors and countrymen. The service members and first responders who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and in the years of service since would be proud of what we have all witnessed over these last three weeks and what will undoubtedly unfold in the coming months of recovery.

By protecting those in need, by taking part in acts of charity, service, and compassion, and by giving back to our communities and country, we honor those who gave their lives on and after September 11, 2001.

By a joint resolution approved December 18, 2001 (Public Law 107-89), the Congress has designated September 11 of each year as “Patriot Day.” NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim September 11, 2017, as Patriot Day. I call upon all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the United States to display the flag of the United States at halfstaff on Patriot Day in honor of the individuals who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

I invite the Governors of the United States and its territories and interested organizations and individuals to join in this observance. I call upon the people of the United States to participate in community service in honor of those our Nation lost, to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m.

Eastern Daylight Time to honor the innocent victims who perished as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-second.

phone and call my family. Horrific day in our history. I can’t believe they’re some among us that choose to forget or dismiss this. I will never forget or forgive.”

— John Bouse Sr., Newton County

was in shock and disbelief over the events unfolding on the TV. Then I began praying for America and all those affected by the disaster.”

— Pat Boldman, Newton County

5HPHPEHULQJ Continued from page 3

walk back to the landline to tell me he would call me later. I worked lunch that day and had 1 customer. No one came to lunch that day. We all just sat at the bar and watched the News.

- Kristi Mall I was sick from work that day so I was able to pick my daughter up from school. She was in kindergarten and was excited to tell me that while on the playground they saw the presidential plane fly overhead. It was low enough to see the Presidential seal.

That’s when I got really scared.

I couldn’t stop watching such a horrific tragedy.

- Diana Lohrbach I was living in rantoul at the time and was doing daycare in my home and had just dropped off the older kids at school and had left the tv on since I knew I was coming right back and when I brought the younger kids in saw them talking about it in tv - Mary Mcnealy I was a senior in high school at PBL we all watched in disbelief as to what was going on knowing a war was inevitable.

- Nathan Broerman I was working in Austin, Texas laying sod. From the time it came on the news, I couldn’t even move off the couch. My grandson was just born back home and hadn’t met him yet.

I broke down and cried all day.

Us workers were staying about 4 blocks from the major military base. And I remember thinking, are they next. I just couldn’t think of anything else besides all the loved ones and friends of all lost. Couldn’t wait to get

home and see my family. And made me appreciate the life I had and my future.

- Carol Pierson Stone I too was a high student, a Junior, I had no clue what the World Trade Center was. I walked in My Ag Class late that day. other students spoke about it, so our Teacher Mr White turned on the TV. At that point in time Tower one had been hit.

The news reported of a plane accidentally hit the building.

Then suddenly another plane came into view. I remember the moment I thought ok it’s under control see they can fly planes around the tower, then I held my breathe, for I realized that plane wasn’t there to help or report news. That plane aimed to hit tower two. It did! Silence hit the room. Mr White turned off the TV. I was shocked! I didn’t know what to think! My best friends told me “ i would marry her Boyfriend before he would have to go fight a war. I was stocked! I felt then as I still feel. That day was fishy, nothing was right about that attack!

A war started, a close friend of mine went to Afghanistan right away. He never came home completely again! That day changed a generation forever.

We have brothers and lover and friends that were started that day a child, and ended day matured. I’ve worked along side volunteers from 9/11. It’s amazing how 20 yrs ago can still feel like yesterday. My heart broke for those loved ones lost! It still breaks for the men and women of a war started 20 yrs ago! The impact of 9/11 isn’t over! These Veterans, of all wars need support, love and understanding!

As do their spouses, their chil-

dren, there mothers and fathers, and friends. The toll of 9/11 “I was in third grade at Morocco Elementary. They made an anrises still! nouncement that something - Meredith Mahon terrible had happened in NYC “I was in my eighth grade com- and that we would have to talk puter class, as we all huddled to our parents to know more. I around the TV and cried. A don’t really remember how my good friend now was a chef at mom told me. I think I saw a lot Ground Zero making pizza for on the news. Fighter jets flew over our house that night.” all the first responders.”

— Jamie Lynn Holewinski, — Samantha Glancy, Morocco Monticello “I remember it like it happened “I was 8 years old. I remember today. Just finished a midnight my mother sitting on the edge of shift and stopped with friends at her seat watching as the towers the Venture Inn in Griffith. We fell. I was coloring on the floor. watched the second jet hit the She said. ‘Oh my God, how other tower live. I remember the could someone do this?’ Me be- first thing I did was grab the pay ing a child, not understanding, replied, “Mommy the planes just fell.” She then turned to me and explained what had happened. Being 8 years old, I could not fully comprehend the tragedy of it, just that it was very sad. I will always remember this day and how my mother held me as she cried.”

— Kelsey Lin Bugg, Wheatfield

“I was in fifth grade; lesson plans were canceled as we watched the looping footage on the news. The senseless act that changed how my young eyes saw the world, set on repeat.”

— Jordan Johnson, West Lafayette “I was home and had workers here remodeling my kitchen. I

“I was at our company headquarters in northeast Ohio.

I remember seeing the towers crumble in disbelief. I was shocked and horrified by the attacks. I had just flown from Chicago to Cleveland and I was thinking that it could have happened on the plane I was on the same day that this horrific attack occurred.”

— Troy Burton, Roselawn

“I was at my first Naval duty station at Diego Garcia. It was night time for us and it was broadcast on the TVs. At first everyone thought this couldn’t be happening but sure enough it did and it was. We went to our respective areas and started preparing for the fallout of what was to come.”

— Lorie Schneidt, Earl Park “I was in second grade. I remember them bringing the TV carts into every hallway and turning on the news. Every classroom emptied into the hallways and watched it all unfold and see the second tower get hit.”

— Rylee Claus, Roselawn

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/RFDO SHRSOH DIIHFWHG E\ DWWDFNV From the Sept. 13, 2001 edition of the Times-Republic

By RUTH CASPER For the Times-Republic The tragedy of the terrorist attacks in the United States has touched the lives of many people in the Iroquois County area.

Here are just a few: Jami McCray, daughter of Danny and Donna McCray, will be in the Air Force seven years in January, 2002. She has been stationed in Miami, Florida, the past two and a half years. She has served overseas and also at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Her work in the military took her to the Pentagon off and on. She has friends the Pentagon, several in particular. One, Lana, her special friend, called Jami Tuesday evening to say that she was all right. There are others that Jami does not know. The part of the Pentagon that was hit was the part that Jami would work in when at the Pentagon.

Jami’s mother finally contacted Jami Tuesday afternoon.

Dale Lawson Jr., an officer in the New York National Guard and stationed several hours from New York City was notified Tuesday morning to fly to New York City to assist. His mother is Linda Lawson of Williamsport, Ind. His grandmother is Wanda Von berg of Cissna Park.

State policeman Rob Katcher, residing in Cissna Park, and

Dave Verkler, a native of Cissna Park living in Bourbonnais, were on alert if needed in Springfield. Verkler’s wife, Maria, is a stewardess and relatives were relieved when they learned that she had arrived in Chicago during the night from a flight.

James Peters, son of Pastor Edgar Peters of Paxton called his father Tuesday to say that he is all right. James had served in the military for 10 years. He held the rank of major when he left the military. He served as a lawyer in international law for the military. He served 18 months in Turkey.

Since leaving the military he has worked in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. He works in the Appropriations Department. This has to do with helping foreign nations financially.

He is one of a number of lawyers that writes briefs for the State Department. His office is on the sixth floor of the Ronald Regan Building. Soon after the plane hit the Pentagon, they’re told to go home. He made his way on foot across town to the Metro, which he took to his home in Herndon, VA., He said that people were crying, running, concerned about what was happening, that it was just pandemonium. Pastor Peters is a native of Cissna Park and is minister of the Lutheran Church in Loda.

A prayer service was at Trin-

ity Lutheran Church in Cissna Park at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Pastor of Trinity is Terry Strom. Many persons of the community and area attended the solemn service of Scripture reading, singing patriotic and comforting hymns and prayers.

At Luke’s One Stop on Tuesday from 3-10:30 p.m. there were double lines of people to fill the gas tanks on their vehicles. The lines were several blocks in length most of the time. There were many from other towns. They had heard that gas would raise to $3 a gallon and maybe more. Luke’s did not run out of gas. Wednesday morning the price at the pump had raised 20 cents a gallon.

Brady Clause, son of Jerry and Karen Clause started June 5 as a pilot for Piedmont Airlines, which is affiliated with U.S. Air. He had earned his pilot license while in college and with the military. After college in North Dakota and the military, he earned his commercial pilots license.

He pilots the smaller planes now but will pilot larger planes in the future. He pilots commuter planes. Brady had left Norfolk, VA, empty to pick up passengers. While in the air he received communication that he was to land at the nearest airport.

He landed at Charlotte, N.C. After landing he then learned of the disaster in New York City and Washington D.C. He later was

able to return to his home in Virginia. His parents called him at his home and were relieved that he was all right.

Noah Peters, husband of Valerie Steiner, daughter of “Butch” and Lois Steiner of Cissna Park, is in the Navy stationed at Bremerton, Wash. He is serving on the aircraft carrier “The Carl Vinson”, en route to the Persian Gulf when they were put on “high alert” Tuesday morning.

Noah is from Paxton. Noah and Valerie live near Bremerton.

The Steiners’ other daughter, Nicole, who works in a bank in Boston, called her parents and repotted she as OK and since the bank where she works is not a federal bank it did not close.

Ruth Casper received email Wednesday morning from her niece, Amy Foss in Oklahoma.

Ruth’s sister, Velva Rence, had flown to Hanover, Germany last Wednesday to attend a concert by the New York Philharmonic.

Her husband’s cousin, Dorian Rence, is a violinist with the Philharmonic. Dorian was on a flight that department Frankfurt yesterday (Tuesday) for JFK. The plane was diverted back to Stuttgart. Her sister Margaret Rence received a call from the NY Philharmonic personnel office stating that Dorian is safe and in Stuttgart. There is no word on when she or the rest of the orchestra will return to New York.

Ruth’s sister, Amy’s mother,

is safe in Norden with cousins Karl and Edine Janssen. She is supposed to return to Dallas late next week, but does not know at this point if that is subject to change. The family thinks it will be changed and all think it would be safer for her not to fly home because airport security will be much tighter. Amy wrote “we are just content knowing that both mom and Dorian are safe in Germany.”

Shawon Wise, junior high instructor at Cissna Park, has a cousin and her husband both on the police force in New York City. The word he received was that they were on vacation this week.

Amaria Huxman, 2001 graduate of Cissna Park High School is now a student at Trinity College at Deerfield. Her roommate has a cousin who worked in the Trade Center who was one of the victims. Her roommate’s uncle, also employed at the World Trade Center, called in sick Tuesday and therefor was not there when the destruction happened.

Ruth Casper was told that the husband, Jonathon Fruendt of Dwight McGrew’s daughter was in the military and was recently transferred to the Pentagon. He is a doctor. Her mother, Mrs. McGrew and aunts Glenda Krumwiede of Cissna Park and Viola Greiner of Cissna Park were packed and ready to fly to Washington D.C. Tuesday

afternoon. The phone rang and it was Mrs. Fruendt, who told them about the plane flying into the Pentagon and that they could not come to visit. I understand he was assisting the wounded.

Col. Jonathon Fruendt was not harmed when the airliner crashed into the Pentagon. Fruendt, an Army medical doctor, was recently assigned to an administrative position at the Pentagon. The family had moved to the Washington D.C., area and he assumed his duties about six weeks ago.

He was at work in an inner office at the Pentagon at the time of the crash. His medical skills were immediately put to use, and he worked all day treating the wounded.

Those that were going to Washington D.C. on Tuesday afternoon were Mary Ann McGrew, Frieda Hamrick and Glenda Krumwiede to visit the Fruendts and tour the area, including the Pentagon.

Katie Bernard, granddaughter of Raymond and Georgia Bernard, lives and works in New York City. Tuesday morning she witnessed the collapse of the World Trade Center towers from four blocks away. She had an appointment with a client at the World Trade Center for Wednesday morning. She called her grandparents at 4 p.m. Tuesday to assure them that she was safe and all right.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET On the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001, we pause to remember the tragic events that claimed thousands of lives, changed countless more and altered the course of history. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family members still grieving for loved ones lost too soon. We will never forget those who perished, and the courage shown by those who risked their lives to help save others. Today we honor their memories and sacrifice. God bless America.

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later HHHHHHHH

6

September, 2021

Monticello Fire Department home to small piece of World Trade Center Steel from World Trade Center at Monticello Fire Department serves as reminder of 9/11

By MICHAEL JOHNSON editor@thehj.com MONTICELLO — Scott Bishop’s ultimate goal is to ensure people don’t forget what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.

That’s the day two passenger jets were rammed into the World Trade Center twin towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a farm field in rural Pennsylvania — likely destined for the US Capitol or the White House.

“I was on duty that day,” Bishop, a veteran Monticello firefighter/paramedic, said. “At first we thought it was a small plane that accidentally crashed into the building. Then as we’re watching a second plane go in, I said, ‘Nope, that’s not an accident.’ It was pretty devastating to watch.”

That’s why a tiny piece of steel from one of the World Trade Center towers can be found in the front lobby of Monticello’s Fire Department.

“I wanted to bring it to our firehouse because I wanted our community to not forget what happened that day, to see a piece of history,” Bishop said. “I don’t know if it’s made the history books yet but if they talk about this in history class in school, I want the students to be able to come over here and look at that. They can read about it and come here and see history, right here in little, old Monticello, Indiana.”

The small piece of unassuming I-beam steel weighs about 200 pounds and sits atop a metal stand Bishop said was created by last year’s welding class at Twin Lakes High School.

“We went to the welding class and told them what we wanted,” he said. “The nice thing is the

thinking a little bit because we were building a new fire station at the time.”

Bishop spoke to a few local fire officials about the idea, then made contact with the FDNY commissioner’s office to see about getting a piece of the WTC for Monticello.

Within a couple of months, Bishop said he received the call he thought he might not ever receive.

“They advised me that my request had been approved,” he said. “It was a really emotional moment for me because I had been working on this.

The process went much faster than I expected.

Not all requests are granted.

“I thought I would get a letter stating something like, ‘Thank you for your interest ... .’ That’s what I was expecting,” Bishop continued. “That’s why it was so emotional when I found out we were getting it. I was almost in tears when they told me. I don’t know why. It just grabbed me … just grabbed me.”

In February 2017, Bishop and fellow Monticello firefighter/paramedic Jake Reiff traveled to New York to pick up the piece. The pair also visited the 9/11 Museum and Ground Zero.

“It was a humbling place to go, especially for us, considering what we do,” Bishop said.

“It was an honor to be asked to accompany Scott,” said Reiff, who was finishing middle school at the time of 9/11. “When the chief said, ‘I’m picking Photo by Michael Johnson you to go with Scott to New York,’ that meant Firefighters/paramedics Jake Reiff, left, and Scott Bishop, went to New York in 2017 to get a something to me.” piece of the World Trade Center for display at the Monticello Fire Department.

Reiff called the experience “humbling.” entire class got to participate in it.”

Bishop first latched on to the idea in September “That piece was in one of the towers that fell. It was an honor and it was moving to be along for When it was completed, Bishop said it was 2016 after watching a 9/11 documentary. loaded onto a fire truck and brought to the new “Toward the end of the documentary, a com- it,” he said. fire station, where it was unveiled a few hours ment was made how fire departments around the Bishop said there was a reason why Reiff was later, on Sept. 27, 2018, during the fire depart- United States were asking for pieces of steel from chosen to accompany him to New York to get the ment’s open house. the World Trade Center,” he said. “That got me steel piece.

Continued on page 11

We Remember Those We Lost

9.11.01

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later HHHHHHHH

September, 2021

7

Dubble: telecommunicators must paint picture for first responders From the Oct. 20, 2019 edition of the Times-Republic

By CARLA WATERS, Managing Editor cwaters@intranix.com WATSEKA, IL - There are some jobs where the person performing the job paints a picture for others. Artists, journalists, musicians and others use their crafts to explain or relate what is going on at a given moment.

The importance of one such job is shown in life or death situations they face every day.

Telecommunicators must paint a picture of what is going on at an accident, medical call or crime scene. They must gather that information as best they can from the call they are taking from those in a situation of distress.

Nita Dubble, the retired director of telecommunications for Iroquois County, spoke about the job that tele communicators have to do to get that information to the responding agencies at the Tunnel To Towers event in Watseka, Illinois.

“I was a telecommunicator and I’ve trained a lot of telecommunicators over the years,” she said. “What I always said to them when they first sat down in the chair is ‘you have everybody in Iroquois County in your hands, and how you respond or don’t respond can make a difference in life or death’. And that’s how important the tele communicators are.

“We all know how important communications is,” she said, “whether it is relationships or radio transmission during an incident.

“Communications problems and successes played an important role on Sept. 11 in the attacks and the aftermaths,” she said, noting that the system was overloaded as everyone tried to take care of responding that day.

“Radio communications served a vital role in coordinating rescue efforts from New York Police Department, New York Fire Department, the port authority police and emergency medical services. Many radio communications were modified to address the problems discovered after the bombing investigation.

“I know in working several years in Iroquois County, there were different times when we had to change our protocols depending on the event we had happen,” she said, “and it made a difference in what we did in the future.

Whether it be education, change in the

way we did things or equipment changes. We found that calls for service increased and so did our radio communications. At that time we only had one frequency that we actually paged our fire and EMS on, other than IMH, and we also had that same frequency as what we did all of our radio transmissions on. We found that got to be a lot of work for one frequency, so we changed to two different frequencies to be able to dispatch on one and be able to do our radio communications on the other.

“In the first 17 minutes of Sept. 11 there were 1,000 police, fire and EMS arrived on scene. Soon after the arrival the resources were overrun by needs.

I can’t imagine what dispatching this incident would have even been like.

When I teach an emergency medical dispatch class, one of the chapters is resource allocations. We have the students list resources that we could possibly need at any incident imaginable.

We have dispatched a surgeon and helicopter to a factory accident and at car accidents when there are three or more injured, it’s an automatic helicopter dispatch if someone has been thrown from the vehicle.

“A big change we made several years ago is box alarms. Box alarms are when the fire departments set these up at the beginning of the year, and then as an occurrence happens in their town it tells us how many fire departments to send to that. I was definitely against box alarms when they first introduced them to me. I thought it would be too much work for the dispatchers, but wow, what a difference they’ve made and I’m definitely a believer today in the box alarms.”

She said in New York during the Sept. 11 responses, they had so many people who responded that they, in the next few days, ran out of telecommunicators to respond because everyone had already worked so many hours.

“In Illinois we have a Telecomunicator Response Task Force,” she said.

There are 213 tele communicators who are trained throughout the state. Should a large incident happen, she said, those telecommunicators are trained to respond and help out as needed. They go out of state, too.

“There were some levels of confusion present in the incident in New York. Commanders didn’t have adequate information and inter-agency information sharing was inadequate.”

She said at one point the New York

center was following protocol and advising callers from the World Trade Center to stay put and wait for instruction from firefighters and police. The people on scene were sending some people from floor to floor to tell people to evacuate.

“Dispatch had no idea these people were doing this,” she said. “Unfortunately this type of thing happens a lot.

The public and first responders think we can see the scene and we know everything that is going on. You know, that crystal ball that we have in the dispatch center.

“They learned that from this incident from situation awareness. The 911 center was overrun by call volumes they had never seen before. Everything thinks TCs know everything about a scene. I think some people think if they call 911 we can hit a button to turn their electricity on after a storm.

“But adding to the confusion in New York, radio recoverage problems, radio traffic blocking and building system problems occurred inside the burning buildings. The facts show that some of the equipment worked as designed and users made the best of what was available to them. That is something we sometimes learn on the fly.

“I can remember a time when we had a major cut in a phone line and we learned that day that line carried all the cell phone and telephone lines that made Iroquois County work.

Some how, and I still don’t know how this happened today, my phone actually worked. (Milford Fire Chief) Frank Hines made one phone call to me on my cell phone and we felt like we were the only people in Iroquois County who were able to talk phone to phone. We were both afraid to hang up because we were afraid we would lose connection.” Calls were being handled

by Kankakee County as the phone line problem was being rectified in Iroquois County, she said. At one point, she said, they had to put equipment in the St. Anne police squad car, so that information could be layer between Kankakee County and Iroquois County.

“It just shows when things get tough you have to think outside the box,” she said.

She said the tele communicators are only as good as the information they are being given and the protocols that are in place. “Telecommunicators are taught to paint a picture,” she said.

“When I teach this in the EMD class one thing I tell them is they need to

Nita Dubble was one of the guest speakers at the Tunnel to Towers event in 2019. get enough information that when the telephone calls to dispatch were disfirefighter, the policeman or ambulance connected or routed to other calls as person gets in there they can paint a “all circuits are busy now”. picture in their head from what you “Stats show about one third of the are telling them. They can decide what radio messages transmitted during the they are going to need at the scene. incident were incomplete or unread“Sometimes people ask us why the able. Some recordings show two or dispatchers ask all those stupid ques- three conversations occurring simultions, and many times we’ve been taneously on particular channel. They hung up on. I wish the public would learned that police, fire and EMS were understand that we are simply doing not able to communicate with each that to help them. It’s not that we are other because they all had their own being nosy. It’s not that we have any- channels. thing else to do. It is simply that we are “Unfortunately through this event trying to get the necessary information and several others we all learned a lot and the correct information to be able about communications. As a telecomto send you help.” municator we do the best with what She said that there are times when a we have. At times a first responder tele communicator will ask someone at gets to the scene and sees something an accident scene to go from car to car different than what we dispatch. I was of the vehicles involved in the accident very lucky during the majority of years to see how many people are involved when I was 911 director that I had an and how hurt they are. That helps them awesome 911 board to work with, that understand what kinds of injuries they was constantly working with me to may be dealing with and how many make things better in Iroquois County. ambulances need to be sent, she said.

“I am very thankful for that. I enThere were several things that hap- joyed being a tele communicator. It’s pened during the Sept. 11 calls, she a profession, like a lot of professions, said, that caused some changes to that isn’t for everyone, but I loved it. be made in the way calls were made. My hats off to those tele communica“Recordings from the incident also tors in New York. I can only imagine indicate that with dispatch being over- what they went through that day and loaded there were delays in radio calls. the days after. To all you first respondUnfortunately this occurs, especially ers, thank you, and stay safe.” in overwhelming situations. Many 911

Photos by Carla Waters Watseka firefighters stand at attention at the closing ceremony of the Tunnel to Towers Local fire departments displayed a large American Flag in Watseka, Illinois, as part of the event.

Tunnel To Towers exhibit in 2019.

People gathered under a tent in downtown Watseka, Illinois, for the closing ceremony of the Tunnel to Towers event in 2019.

Local group, A Natural High, performs as part of the closing ceremony of the Tunnel to Towers event.

Christ Lutheran, St. Paul’s students visit Tunnel to Towers exhibit From the Oct. 20, 2019 edition of the Times-Republic WATSEKA, IL - A group of Lutheran students from Christ Lutheran High School in Buckley and St. Paul’s School in Woodworth had the opportunity to visit the traveling 9/11 museum that was recently in Watseka, according to a news release.

The combined 7-12 graders from St. Paul’s enjoyed fellowship and a pizza lunch at Monical’s. Then a tour of the September 11th display was made more special as they heard the story of the dedication and sacrifice of the first responders who were lost on that fateful day by actual NYFD veterans who were there.

Volunteer Susan Wynn Bence provided the added bonus of giving an impromptu explanation of the recently dedicated downtown, mural of Potawatomi “princess” Watchakee, for whom Watseka is named. The students from both schools enjoyed seeing former classmates and meeting new ones, according to the information provided.

Photo contributed Students attending the Tunnel to Towers event in Watseka in October include, back row, left to right: Briana Hamm, Elijah Heisner, Paige Huse, Mikaula Hand, Luke Hewerdine, Gabe Bohlman, Gavin Spitz, Marshall Horton, Mike Munger; front row, left to right: Deanna Auxier, Benn Schleef, Colson Carley, Kinley VanHoveln, Aubrey Wagner, London Clark, Ethan Huse, Cassandra Myers and Kaitlyn Hornbeck.

REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

8

September, 2021

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BY TERRENCE J. LINDELL WAVERLY, IA – I teach a course on the World War II home front and use artifacts of the era to help students understand what life was like then. This would be considered the study of material culture, the objects we own.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, I was struck by how similar the response was to how American culture reacted to Pearl Harbor. For the next year I collected artifacts showing the American reaction. The reflections that follow come from a paper I presented at a conference in the fall of 2002.

The September 11 attacks produced an immediate burst of patriotism that was demonstrated by an increased display of the flag. Flying the flag became so popular that retailers noted runs on the item and sometimes reported shortages. The same happened in 1941. Many people displayed patriotism by wearing pins depicting the flag. Such pins have been around for years, but September 11 brought them into the mainstream, at least for a time. Existing supplies were quickly supplemented by new production.

By mid-October one couldn’t walk through a shopping mall or concourse without finding several vendors with pin displays near the cash register.

While flag pins of various sorts were in use in WWII, they seem to represent a much smaller proportion of pins people acquired.

Another early response to September 11 was the appearance of various patriotic handicrafts produced by individuals. Sometimes this was merely a swatch of red, white, and blue ribbon attached to clothing with a safety pin. More common was a looped ribbon or ribbons or red, white and blue, held together with a safety pin or glued together, sometimes with another symbol superimposed over it.

I acquired an example of this sort in early October 2001, at

a local flower shop where they were complimentary gifts from the proprietor. Another early craft expression of patriotism was the placement of colored beads on safety pins to resemble the American flag. These were sometimes sold to raise money for charities aiding victims of the terrorist attacks. News of how to produce handicrafts of all these types spread quickly in newspapers, craft magazines, craft stores, and especially websites. Within days of September 11 there were websites available with downloadable patterns for the creation of patriotic crafts.

While men were more likely to wear flag lapel pins, women were much more likely to wear these handicraft items.

The attack on Pearl Harbor evoked a patriotic response among crafters, as well. Surviving examples are few when compared to the considerable number of craft items produced after September 11, however.

If one looks beyond those craft items bearing the slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor,” one finds a greater variety. During the war numerous craft patterns, especially for various cloth items, appeared. One could embroider dish towels with humorous scenes from military life, a chair back cover with an eagle, or crochet barnyard animals for children’s toys. There’s no way to know how many such items were actually produced from these patterns. Few seem to have survived to become collectibles.

In the months following the attacks of September 11, Americans were greeted with a barrage of commercial products related to the tragedies. Certainly among the earliest and most widespread were pins that allowed people to express their patriotism, unity, sympathy for the victims, and outrage against the perceived enemy. Traditional flag pins appeared in greater variety and manufacturers sometimes superimposed the flag over the outline of the contiguous United States. Traditional American symbols were employed. The bald eagle appeared as an expression of American determination and vengeance. The Statue of Liberty was common, in part because of its traditional meanings to Americans, but also because of its proximity to the World Trade Center. Curiously,

Historian Terence Lindell collected patriotic items after 9/11 and displayed them, along with with his World War II collection.

Uncle Sam was less in evidence in the material culture after 9/11 that he was in World War II. While the flag, eagle, and Statue of Liberty were all traditional American symbols represented in the material culture of World War II, new symbols became common in the artifacts of 9/11. Among these was the looped ribbon, typically in patriotic colors. Modern use of a ribbon, originally in yellow, as a political or social statement appears to date to the Iran hostage crisis and was probably inspired by the song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree” made famous by Tony Orlando and Dawn. A yellow ribbon, often tied in a bow, was used as a sign of support for American troops during the Persian Gulf War. During the 1990s a number of causes adopted looped ribbons of various colors to advertise an issue and mobilize support.

While a looped ribbon sometimes appeared as a standalone symbol in 9/11 material culture, it often included other icons. Among the foremost of these was the profile of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Other symbols included the Pentagon and the logos of United Airlines and American Airlines, the companies whose aircraft were hijacked on September 11.

Examples also appeared with crosses, doves, and emblems of the New York fire and police departments. Red, white, and blue is the most common color combination for the ribbon, but yellow was also used. An effort was made just after September 11 to launch a gray ribbon campaign, with the gray representing “the thousands who lost their lives . .

. [and] the determination of the American people to rise out of the ashes to build again,” but did not catch on.

The looped ribbon has no presence in WWII home front material culture.

Its WWII counterpart is the letter “V,” often shown with three dots and a dash–the Morse code for the letter. “V for Victory”–symbolizing the Allies’ determination to defeat their enemies–is found across the entire range of WWII collectibles, from jewelry to salt and pepper shakers, from postal covers to recipe books, from postage stamps to board games.

Another early artifact of the post-9/11 period was the flag sticker, either magnetic, held by adhesive, or static-cling. Many of these were designed so that people could easily show their patriotism on home or car. Some businesses gave them to customers in return for a donation to one of the charities organized to aid victims of the attacks. These were followed by small flags on poles that one could secure to a car window. By late 2001, one couldn’t go far in a shopping mall parking lot without encountering dozens of cars that somehow displayed the flag.

Both eras quickly adopted slogans that captured American sentiments. The Japanese attack on Hawaii inspired the slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor,” which apparently first appeared in print in the editorial of the December 10, 1941, issue of the Portland Oregonian. It quickly appeared on a wide range of objects and continued in use throughout the Pacific war. The tone with which it was used had more to do with seeking revenge on Japan than memorializing the casualties. The purpose of remembering was to bring the

enemy to account. Other World War II slogans included “God Bless America,” the title of a popular Irving Berlin song most associated with Kate Smith, and “United We Stand.” “Keep ‘em Rolling” and “Keep ‘em Flying” were popular slogans used to mobilize workers and resources to produce war materials.

“United We Stand” quickly emerged as the dominant American slogan after September 11, followed by “God Bless America.” These appeared on pins, publications, bumper stickers, Christmas ornaments, light displays, and other artifacts.

EconoFoods, a grocery chain with stores in Iowa, still used a “United We Stand” logo on its ads nearly a year after the attacks. These slogans conveyed a different tone than did “Remember Pearl Harbor.” These called for unity in the face of adversity and for divine aid, not vengeance. The only slogan that spoke of a mobilization was “Let’s Roll,” taken from Todd Beamer’s remark aboard Flight 93 as the passengers prepared to storm the cabin and prevent the aircraft from being used in a suicide attack. This phrase occasionally appeared on artifacts after 9/11, was quoted by President George W. Bush, and became part of a new wave of nose art on Air Force aircraft.

These slogans sometimes appeared on pinback buttons, but they were also often found on bumper stickers. The printing technology that makes possible an all-weather sticker suitable for automobiles was developed after World War II and first saw wide use in the election of 1956.

Used initially for political campaigns, bumper stickers became popular as people used them to express a variety of sentiments in a public fashion. They offer distinct advantages over pins–they provide a larger canvas on which to express a sentiment, they can be seen by a wider audience, and they are long-term fixtures.

Bumper stickers are not found in WWII memorabilia, though metal signs were sometimes affixed to bumpers and license plates. A more common way of expressing one’s sentiments was the use of postcards.

Today we associate postcards with vacations and we use them to show people where we have been. While postcards were used for that purpose in the 1940s, they could also be used to promote patriotism or convey–often

with humor–how one felt about the enemy or wartime conditions.

I found postcards that reflected post-9/11 themes in major cities I visited in the spring and summer of 2002. In San Antonio I found one vendor offering a nice selection of patriotic postcards, some bearing the slogans made popular after September 11 and others depicting familiar American icons such as the Liberty Bell, Capitol building, and Statue of Liberty.

They can be characterized as big and bold, as one might expect in Texas. One interesting example showed several aircraft and the phrases “United We Stand” and “United States Air Force,” not surprising in a city with major Air Force installations. Another transformed “Don’t Mess with Texas” into “Don’t Mess with America.”

The postcards I found in New York City in the spring of 2002 conveyed a very different message. The cards that were related to September 11 typically memorialized the World Trade Center. Several carried the dates 1973 and 2001 as though these were the birth and death dates of a person. All the cards that I saw showing the skyline of Lower Manhattan still had the towers of the World Trade Center in them.

It was though New Yorkers were unwilling to acknowledge the loss. The only postcards I found that showed the destruction of the towers were before and after satellite photos.

New York also had the only postcards I found that were clearly anti-Osama bin Laden.

The World War II era produced numerous examples of material culture portraying Axis leaders in negative terms. There is also the fact that little was known by the American public about Osama bin Laden before September 11 while enemy leaders in WWII were heads of state or highranking political officials. There were negative artifacts available, including an Osama bin Laden pinãta, purchasers of which were encouraged to “spit on it, burn it, kick it or just beat the hell out of it.”

Among the most common ways in which Americans expressed a patriotic sentiment in the months after September 11 was the wearing of clothing– especially T-shirts and sweatshirts–with slogans, the flag or elements of the flag, or other Continued on page 20

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By HARLEY TOMLINSON harleytom20@gmail.com RENSSELAER — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey gave away more than 2,600 pieces of steel and other artifacts left behind by the 9-11 attacks.

The Rensselaer Volunteer Fire Department has two of those pieces affixed on a special monument outside of its fire house.

RVFD placed an engraved piece of granite between the two pieces — chunks of steel beams each standing three feet tall — above the words “Never Forget.” The granite features the following words: “In memory of all those who lost their lives and to the brave men and women who gave their lives to

save so many others on September 11, 2001. Their courage and love of our country will be a source of strength and comfort to our great nation. God Bless America.”

For 15 years, piles of twisted steel, damaged vehicles, elevator parts, souvenirs from the underground mall, subway cars and other objects were stored inside a hanger at John F. Kennedy Airport. Many of those pieces were flown to other parts of the country, with Rensselaer receiving two short pieces of girders from one of the towers in 2012.

It is believed that 840 pieces of steel were cut into 2,200 chunks. The Port Authority began giving away those pieces in 2006 and discontinued the pro-

gram in 2016.

An estimated 1,585 pieces were sent to community groups, museums, fire stations, town halls and military bases from Manhattan to Afghanistan. Representatives from towns and cities throughout the country mailed in requests for a piece or artifact so they could prepare memorials as a way to remember the nearly 3,000 people who died when terrorists steered two commercial planes into the towers.

What wasn’t sent or picked up is currently housed in the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero on the World Trade Center site as well as in state museums in New York and New Jersey.

The words “Never Forget” draw attention to the two pieces of girders that were given to the Rensselaer Volunteer Fire Department years after clean-up was performed at the World Trade Center in New York after 9/11.

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Chunks of steel were cut into pieces and distributed to fire departments and other first responder groups throughout the country. Rensselaer’s fire department received two pieces of steel from one Photos by HARLEY TOMLINSON of the World Trade Center towers in 2012.

The Rensselaer Volunteer Fire Department dedicated its 9/11 memorial in 9/11 then moved it to its new location at the firehouse on State Road 114 in 2016.

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

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President George W. Bush is joined by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, left, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, as they bow their heads during a moment of silence Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, during the dedication of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. White House photo by Eric DraperSeven years ago at this hour, a doomed airliner plunged from the sky, split the rock and steel of this building, and changed our world forever. The years that followed have seen justice delivered to evil men and battles fought in distant lands. But each day on this year -- each year on this day, our thoughts return to this place. Here, we remember those who died. And here, on this solemn anniversary, we dedicate a memorial that will enshrine their memory for all time.

Building this memorial took vision and determination -- and Americans from every

you.

President George W. Bush is joined by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, left, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, as they bow their heads during a moment of silence Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, during the dedication of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. White House photo by Eric Draper corner of our country answered the call. Two young architects in New York City came up with the design. A foundry near St. Louis cast the steel. An Iraqi immigrant in Illinois gave the metal its luster. And citizens from across our nation made contributions large and small to build this graceful monument.

The Pentagon Memorial will stand as an everlasting tribute to 184 innocent souls who perished on these grounds. The benches here bear each of their names. And beneath each bench is a shimmering pool filled with the water of life -- a testament to those who were taken from us, and to their memories that will live on in our hearts.

For the families and friends

of the fallen, this memorial will be a place of remembrance.

Parents will come here to remember children who boarded Flight 77 for a field trip and never emerged from the wreckage. Husbands and wives will come here to remember spouses who left for work one morning and never returned home. People from across our nation will come here to remember friends and loved ones who never had the chance to say goodbye.

A memorial can never replace what those of you mourning a loved one have lost. We pray that you will find some comfort amid the peace of these grounds. We pray that you will find strength in knowing that our nation will always grieve with

For all our citizens, this memorial will be a reminder of the resilience of the American spirit. As we walk among the benches, we will remember there could have been many more lives lost. On a day when buildings fell, heroes rose: Pentagon employees ran into smoke-filled corridors to guide their friends to safety. Firefighters rushed up the stairs of the World Trade Center as the towers neared collapse. Passengers aboard Flight 93 charged the cockpit and laid down their lives to spare countless others. One of the worst days in America’s history saw some of the bravest acts in Americans’ history. We’ll always honor the heroes of 9/11.

And here at this hallowed place, we pledge that we will never forget their sacrifice.

President George W. Bush is joined from left by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen and James J. Laychak, chairman of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, Inc. as they bow their heads during a Moment of Silence Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, at the dedication of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. White House photo

by Eric DraperWe also honor those who raised their hands and made the noble decision to defend our nation in a time of war. When our enemies attacked the Pentagon, they pierced the

rings of this building. But they could not break the resolve of the United States Armed Forces. Since 9/11, our troops have taken the fight to the terrorists abroad so we do not have to face them here at home. Thanks to the brave men and women, and all those who work to keep us safe, there has not been another attack on our soil in 2,557 days.

(Applause.)

For future generations, this memorial will be a place of learning. The day will come when most Americans have no living memory of the events of September the 11th. When they visit this memorial, they will learn that the 21st century began with a great struggle between the forces of freedom and the forces of terror. They will learn that this generation of Americans met its duty -- we did not tire, we did not falter, and we did not fail. They will learn that freedom prevailed because the desire for liberty lives in the heart of every man, woman, and child on Earth.

We can be optimistic about the future because we’ve seen the character and courage of those who defend liberty. We have been privileged to live amongst those who have volunteered to spread the foundation of peace and justice, which is freedom.

Seven years ago this morning, police officer Cecil Richardson was on duty here at the Pentagon. He saw the terror that day with his own eyes. He says on some nights he can still smell

the burning metal and smoke.

Not long ago, he wrote me saying, “I remember the reasons we fight. I remember the losses we felt. And I remember the peace we will have.”

That day of peace will come. And until it does, we ask a loving God to watch over our troops in battle. We ask Him to comfort the families who mourn. And we ask Him to bless our great land.

And now it’s my honor to dedicate the Pentagon Memorial.

A Marine Band trumpeter plays Taps while first responders and officials salute a flag that hangs on the side of the Pentagon Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008, during the dedication of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va. White House photo by Eric Draper

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BY ERIC VANSICKLE As the world watched in horror the aftermath of two commercial airliners colliding with the World Trade Center in New York, a third airplane, American Airlines Flight 77, slammed into the side of the Pentagon, the center of America’s military might.

At 9:37 a.m. Eastern Time, the airliner “plunged from the sky, split the rock and steel of this building, and changed our world forever,” according to then-President George W. Bush during the dedication of the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on Sept. 11, 2008, the seventh anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

“The years that followed have seen justice delivered to evil men and battles fought in distant lands. But… each year on this day, our thoughts return to this place. Here, we remember those who died,” the president continued. “And here, on this solemn anniversary, we dedicate a memorial that will enshrine their memory for all time.

“The Pentagon Memorial will stand as an everlasting tribute to 184 innocent souls who perished on these grounds. The benches here bear each of their names. And beneath each bench is a shimmering pool filled with the water of life — a testament to those who were taken from us, and to their memories that will live on in our hearts.”

The memorial was built over a two-plus-year timeframe starting in June 2006 and completed in August of 2008.

According to the interactive timeline on pentagonmemorial. org, Kaseman Beckman of Amsterdam Studio wrote in the design description of the memorial, it is “a memorial that simultaneously affords intimate and collective contemplation through silence within a tactile field of sensuous experience.”

“It sets out to permanently record and express the sheer magnitude of loss through an architectural experience of a place radically different than what we encounter in our daily lives,” Beckman added.

The memorial itself depicts a timeline of the victims’ ages spanning from the youngest, 3-year-old Dana Falkenberg, who was the airplane, to the oldest, 71-year-old Navy veteran John D. Yamnicky, also on Flight 77.

Each victim’s name and age are inscribed on the 184 benches that fill the memorial. The cantilever seats extend over a lighted pool and are made of stainless steel inlaid with smooth granite.

The units are positioned to differentiate the Pentagon staff victims from those who were on the flight. The ones that honor the 125 servicemembers stationed at the facility are set so the names and the building are in the same view, while those marking the 59 victims on Flight 77 have their names showing the flight path of the jet.

In the gateway to the memorial, metal strips mark the age lines

Al-Qaeda terrorists crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the side of the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, as part of an attack on the U.S.

The 184 individual memorial benches are set atop lit pools.

The Pentagon staff who were killed have their names in line with the building, while those who were on American Airlines Flight 77 have their names situated in the jet’s flight path. of the victims, starting from Line Zero, which has the date and time of when Flight 77 crashed. There is also a plaque that lists all 184 victims and which number is their bench.

Victims from the same family are honored by a plaque at the end of a pool of water.

The Pentagon memorial is the first of the facilities that mark the al-Qaeda attack on the U.S., with the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum opening three years later and a memorial and visitor’s center in Shanksville, Pennsylvania that opened on Sept. 10, 2015.

Visitors to the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial can see a timeline of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

For more information on the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, go to either defense.gov/experience/pentagon-memorial or pentagonmemorial.org.

0RQWLFHOOR )LUH Continued from page 6

“I have 34 years in emergency services, so I’m the old guy,” he said. “Jake is the young guy who will pass on the information on what we did and how it

all got accomplished. Then he can pass it on when he leaves.”

“Just want to make sure the cycle never breaks,” Reiff said.

“Never forget.”

Bishop said getting the piece for the Monticello Fire Department and the community was “satisfying.”

“I never thought Monticello

would get a piece of the World Trade Center from New York City,” he said. “I brought it here for our guys to remind them not only about what happened that

day, but to also remember that some day we may pay the ultimate price.

“I don’t want people to ever forget what happened that day. I

will never forget it. Over 3,000 people died that day — including 343 of our brothers — for no reason. No reason whatsoever.”

September 11 will remain forever in our memories of all who lived it.

Our American spirit originally made our country free, and to this day, 9-11 has molded us into sense of togetherness.

Let us never forget, and always honor our flag, our country, our heroes!

Champaign • Gilman Watseka bankprospect.com

CITY OF RENSSELAER, INDIANA STEPHEN A. WOOD Mayor 124 S. Van Rensselaer St. / P.O. Box 280 Rensselaer, Indiana 47978 Office 219.866.5212 / Fax 219.866.7551 mayorwood@cityofrensselaerin.com

REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

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Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari boarded a 6:00 A.M. flight from Portland to Boston’s Logan International Airport. Atta was selected by a computerized prescreening system known as CAPPS, created to identify passengers who should be subject to special security measures. Under security rules in place at the time, the only consequence of Atta’s selection by CAPPS was that his checked bags were held off the plane until it was confirmed that he had boarded the aircraft.

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After arriving in Boston, Atta took a call from Marwan al Shehhi, a longtime colleague who was at another terminal at Logan Airport. They spoke for three minutes.

O

n September 11, 2001 al Qaeda terrorists aboard three hijacked passenger planes carried out coordinated suicide attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing everyone on board the planes and nearly 3,000 people on the ground. A fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all on board, after passengers and crew attempted to wrest control from the hijackers.

Below is a chronology of the events of 9/11 as they unfolded.

September, 2021

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American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 with 92 people aboard, takes off from Boston’s Logan International Airport en route to Los Angeles.

September, 2021

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The FAA notified NEADS of the suspected hijacking of Flight 77 after some passengers and crew aboard are able to alert family members on the ground.

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Speaking from Florida, President Bush calls the events in New York City an “apparent terrorist attack on our country.”

Hijackers aboard Flight 77 crash the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.

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United Airlines Flight 175, a Boeing 767 with 65 people aboard, takes off from Boston; it is also headed to Los Angeles.

American Airlines Flight 11 Boston to Los Angeles

American Airlines Flight 175 Boston to Los Angeles

American Airlines Flight 77 Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles

American Airlines Flight 93 Newark to San Francisco

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Hijacker Mohammed Atta makes the first of two accidental transmissions from Flight 11 to ground control (apparently in an attempt to communicate with the plane’s cabin).

Air traffic controllers at The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) alert North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)’s Northeast Air Defense Sector (NEADS) about the suspected hijacking of Flight 11. In response, NEADS scrambles two fighter planes located at Cape Cod’s Otis Air National Guard Base to locate and tail Flight 11; they are not yet in the air when Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower.

After initially instructing tenants of the WTC’s South Tower to remain in the building, Port Authority officials broadcast orders to evacuate both towers via the public address system; an estimated 10,000 to 14,000 people are already in the process of evacuating.

Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

American Airlines Flight 77 takes off from Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C. The Boeing 757 is headed to Los Angeles with 64 people aboard.

United Airlines Flight 93, a Boeing 757 with 44 people aboard, takes off from Newark International Airport en route to San Francisco. It had been scheduled to depart at 8:00 am, around the time of the other hijacked flights.

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card alerts President George W. Bush that a plane has hit the World Trade Center; the president is visiting an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida at the time.

The FAA bans all takeoffs of flights going to New York City or through the airspace around the city.

Flight attendants aboard Flight 11 alert ground personnel that the plane has been hijacked; American Airlines notifies the FBI.

Mohammed Atta and the other hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crash the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

Within seconds, NYPD and FDNY forces dispatch units to the World Trade Center, while Port Authority Police Department officers on site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

The Port Authority closes all bridges and tunnels in the New York City area.

The South Tower of the World Trade Center collapses.

After passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked Flight 93 contact friends and family and learn about the attacks in New York and Washington, they mount an attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crash the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

The 47-story Seven World Trade Center collapses after burning for hours; the building had been evacuated in the morning, and there are no casualties, though the collapse forces rescue workers to flee for their lives. It is the last of the Twin Towers to fall.

President Bush addresses the nation, calling the attacks “evil, despicable acts of terror” and declaring that America, its friends and allies would “stand together to win the war against terrorism.”

Amid escalating rumors of other attacks, the White House and U.S. Capitol building are evacuated (along with numerous other high-profile buildings, landmarks and public spaces).

The World Trade Center’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

Rescuers free Port Authority employee Pasquale Buzzelli from the rubble of the North Tower. Buzzelli had been in the process of evacuating the North Tower when the building began to collapse from above. Situated somewhere between the 22nd and 13th floors, Buzzelli crouches into a fetal position and, hours later, wakes up on a slab in the building debris, 15 feet above the ground.

Rescuers locate PAPD Officer William Jimeno and PAPD Sergeant John McLoughlin, injured but alive in the debris of the World Trade Center. They free Officer Jimeno after three hours of dangerous tunneling work. Sergeant McLoughlin’s rescue will take another eight hours.

Workers will extricate the 18th survivor, Genelle Guzman, on the afternoon of September 12. She will be the last person rescued.

For the first time in history, the FAA grounds all flights over or bound for the continental United States. Over the next two-and-a-half hours, some 3,300 commercial flights and 1,200 private planes are guided to land at airports in Canada and the United States.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls for the evacuation of Lower Manhattan south of Canal Street, including more than 1 million residents, workers and tourists, as efforts continue throughout the afternoon to search for survivors at the WTC site.

A lower section of the North Tower’s stairwell B survives the building’s collapse, protecting a group of 13 first responders and one civilian who had been attempting to evacuate down the stairs. Within hours of the tower’s collapse, the first responders emerge from the debris and direct rescuers to the civilian.

REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

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September, 2021

Historical Archive

)LUVW KDQG ZLWQHVV UHIOHFWV RQ WUDJHG\ This article was originally published in the Sept. 28, 2001 edition of the Times-Republic, a publication of Community Media Group

BY HELEN TODD WATSEKA, IL – It had finally happened. New York City Opera hired me to sing the role of Queen of the Night in their production of The Magic Flute.

It will be my Lincoln Center debut. I had been in Manhattan for about three – four weeks when Sept. 11 happened. I had not gotten used to the rush and bustle, the noise, and the incredible speed of the city. I found it unnerving to walk down the street with so many people rushing to their homes or jobs. The noise from the trucks would always bother me. Needless to say, I had been craving the sights of Watseka since I arrived here in late August. One day, I had actually sat down and envisioned a country road outside of Watseka, west off Rte. 24, where I used to go to sing by myself and look at the corn growing and the expansive land. I missed home.

I woke up Sept. 11 like most days around 9 a.m. and turned the TV on to catch the news. The TV showed the first tower of the World Trade Center smoking and on fire. The news anchors were saying something about a plane hitting the tower. I picked up the phone and called Mom at the Emergency Room at the hospital in Watseka to let her know what had happened as an interesting news story here in the city. We spoke briefly and then hung up.

Minutes later I saw the second plane plow into the second tower. I knew then that this was no accident. I sat here in my one room apartment and watched the events unfold. News came over that the Pentagon was hit.

Then, I saw the second tower collapse and soon after the first.

I was just shaking.

I tried to call family members, but the phone lines were jammed. I tried my cell phone but there were no lines avail-

able. My agent called and told me that of course, my audition for today would be canceled.

He then said something that terrified me, “If there is anthrax on that plane, we’re all dead.”

A cold sweat ran through me. I felt every fiber of my body quiver.

All I could think of was “I have to get out of here.” I thought about the possibility of never seeing my husband again, my parents, my brother and his family. I started to panic. I picked up the phone and tried to call again but no phone lines.

I thought the whole city was under attack. I didn’t know which building would be next.

They announced on the TV that all transit was stopped, that the bridges were closed. I was trapped on Manhattan Island.

Then, as my fears started to run away with me, I felt this strong presence in my room of God telling me, “I am here. I will protect you. Lean on me.

Have faith.” It felt as if someone had laid a hand on my back and told me to sit down and relax.

I continued to watch the news coverage, which was agonizing.

I finally got a phone line through and called my husband’s school where he was teaching in Ohio but got an answering machine. I left a message to please tell him I was in my apartment and safe.

He finally reached me about 12:30 p.m. When I heard the sound of his voice, I just broke down.

In that moment, all I could think of was my wedding vows, that I had promised God that I would take care of this man for the rest of my life. I desperately wanted to be with him to make sure that he was safe. We were both shaken but held each other on the phone as best we could and said we would speak again in a few hours. He said he would come and get me by car if need be.

I received another call from another singer who told me that the grocery stores were jammed full of people buying water and food. I told her that I didn’t have any cash. She urged

me to go get some just in case.

I expected the worst when I went outside. But everyone was calm. I walked to the ATM and got my cash without a problem. My friend David urged me to go to a café and have lunch with him. My stomach was in knots, and I couldn’t imagine that I could eat anything.

We walked down the street and I was totally amazed. Everyone was so calm. They were walking slower but they were stopping people on the street and talking about what happened.

There was an overwhelming feeling of kindness, love and utter calmness. We went to the café, and it was the same. The traffic had slowed down to almost nothing. The trucks were gone.

As I walked back from the café, I passed a man covered in ash. He looked like a ghost out of a movie. He must have walked two miles home.

He was standing in front of his apartment building stomping his feet trying to get the ash off. I’ll never forget that sight. He was so white, from head to toe, suit to shoe.

I had tried to reach my longtime Watseka friend, John Whitman, who was working in the Empire State Building, early on. I tried to call him but couldn’t reach him. I wanted to make sure that he had gotten out of that building in case it was another target. I left messages for him with his roommate, knowing that he would be trapped in Manhattan as well.

I told his roommate to tell him to come here and he could stay all night. I finally reached John about 3:30 p.m. He was going with a group of volunteers to help save any injured people or help anyone who needed a translator for Spanish. This did not surprise me at all, knowing John. I told him to come here whenever he could.

After many hours, John arrived here about 10 p.m. He had waited for hours to help but there was no one to help. We didn’t know at that time that that

would hold true. We both went to sleep that night about 1 a.m. wondering if the morning would indeed come. Before we went to sleep, we hugged, and I said a prayer.

In the coming days, John and I were inseparable. We had spent a lot of time together already in NYC. But John gave me the kind of comfort that everyone needs in times of crisis, the comfort of home. John reminded me of home, of Watseka, of high school events, Lantern’s Lane, Pictionary tournaments at the Whitman’s, county fairs, show choir contest, VIPS, my parents, so many things that I love about Watseka. He made me feel safe when I was with him. I am so thankful that John was here.

We went down to the many memorials together. We walked over to Union Square and saw the many candles and artwork that had already started to crop up all over the park. I heard a marching band coming up the street. Everyone started walking towards it. It was a group of college students from Alabama. They marched into the square. It was the most beautiful sight. They looked so young to me, not much older than 20.

They had full drums, cymbals, and trumpets. The sound of the brass playing “The Star-Spangled Banner” put a lump in my throat.

We saw the Armory where family members went to register their missing person. Thousands of faces Xeroxed on white pieces of paper with their descriptions and the floor they had been working on at the World Trade Center when the disaster happened.

Face after beautiful face.

Pictures of people at weddings,

birthday parties, happy moments captured on film now taped to brick wall seven feet high.

The pictures lined the buildings for three blocks all around the Armory. There were people singing in the street.

My husband had decided to drive into the city from Ohio that day and called me on my cell phone to tell me where he was.

I heard his voice and just broke down on the street. “It’s just horrible.” I was leaning on a parking meter. This stranger heard me and came over to me and just held me until I stopped crying.

I used to think that New York City was a big city, very cold and lonely.

But for the first time, I have seen New York City as a

John Whitman worked at the Empire State Building on 9/11. small town, full of people who just want to pursue their lives and love their families. They walk slower now. They smile more. They are more patient.

They look up at the blue sky and exhale.

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BY HELEN TODD WATSEKA, IL – It is hard to believe that 20 years has passed since the terrorist attack on Sept. 11, 2001.

When this anniversary occurs each year, I try not to watch TV. When people or newscasts post footage from that day of burning buildings, it takes me directly back to that day in New York City and still fills me with fear. When I see the footage, I think of the mothers and fathers who died in those buildings and the footage to me is an active record of their death.

I had hoped that years later the world would have respect for those people who died and that this footage would not be shown as it further traumatizes their family members to see each year.

Instead, I wish they would talk to those who lost loved ones and ask them who they were and what they meant to them.

That is the kind of re-

We were proud to be co-sponsor of the Tunnel to Towers mobile exhibit that visited Watseka in October of 2019.

Helen Todd witnessed firsthand the terror of 9/11. She is pictured with her husband, Daren Stahl, and their two daughters, Isabella and Julianna.

membrance that we should all do on 9/11. Remember the incredible and the simple lives of the people who died on that day, NOT of the final terrorizing moments they spent on earth.

Even though I did not have a family member in one of the towers that fell, I was in NYC to sing at Lincoln Center and I feared that the city would be bombed and I would not see my husband and family again.

It took many hours before I heard their voices on the other end of the line as helicopters and planes flew over Manhattan. The anguish of New York City will never leave me and the heroism of New York’s FDNY and police will be with me forever as they were the only trucks on the streets.

The rest of the world watched the pain on the news.

But I was in NYC and felt the pain and saw the pictures posted to fences and poles all through Manhattan.

New York City was a loving place after 9/11 and it reminded me of what happens when unimaginable tragedy brings people together.

This feeling lasted a few months in America but unfortunately for all of us, it did not hold forever.

Tragedy either brings you closer or pushes you further apart.

I pray that this year as we look back at 9/11, we pause for a moment to find the ways we can come closer together.

Our world desperately needs us to do this. Life is an incredibly delicate and fragile gift.

I learned from 9/11 that tragedy can be an opportunity to heal each other.

I learned that unless you see the pain you might not understand how deep the pain goes.

And I learned that real heroes are the ones who don’t have the spotlight. I strive to be one of those.

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It is important that We Never Forget

Step, STAND, Salute

Let us strive for a more peaceful world and continue to remember and honor those who have given their lives for our freedoms.

Watseka Park District

110 S. Third St., Watseka, IL 815-432-3931 www.watsekaparks.org

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We will never forget.

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later HHHHHHHH

September, 2021

15

20 years later Scott McCoy recalls witnessing the attacks, aftermath while working in New York City

By RICK REED and anelia k. Dimitrova

WINCHESTER, IN – Like many Americans, Scott McCoy will never forget. For him, the surreal experience of 9/11, and its aftermath, are permanently etched in his mind.

That day, he was a long way from his hometown of Winchester, Indiana, sitting in his 21st floor apartment just 4 short miles from the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City.

“My home office faced east and south in the corner of my apartment,” he said. “I could see the top of the WTC building. When I went to my desk that morning I saw that I had a voicemail. My friend had just called and said that an airplane had struck the World Trade Center building.”

Nearly 3,000 souls perished and thousands more were injured when four airplanes piloted by Al-Qaeda terrorists were hijacked. Two were intentionally flown into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center causing the collapse of the two tallest buildings in the world.

“I looked out the building and saw smoke and immediately turned on the news,” he said. “At that moment on television, I saw the second plane hit the WTC tower. I called my girlfriend who worked in Manhattan, but lived in Queens, and told her not to try and go home as the bridges and tunnels may be targets also.”

At 8:46 a.m., the American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower and destroyed floors 93 through 99. All 81 passengers and 11 crew members were killed.

At 9:03, United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the south face of the South Tower. All 65 on board were killed instantly, as well as hundreds more inside the building.

Some of McCoy’s friends were grievously affected.

This is a photo of Scott McCoy’s award-winning photojournalist friend Allan Tannenbaum, who is covered with white ash as he took photos in the aftermath of 9-11. Tannenbaum lived a couple of blocks from the towers. He immediately took his camera to the scene at 9-11.

The husband of one of his co-workers at CNN, Linda Perry Thorpe, who was working above the 90th floor, Rick Thorpe, perished in the attack.

Another good friend, the late Rick Hadala, who happened to be approaching the building as it collapsed, saw a lady lying in the street. He tried to help her, but a firefighter looked at the woman, and told him it was too late for her. Hadala then walked 5 miles home, covered in white ash. When he washed himself off, he discovered that falling glass shards had caused multiple cuts all over his body.

Another one of McCoy’s friends, Allan Tannenbaum, who lived a couple of blocks from the towers, immediately took his camera to the scene on 9/11 and captured the collapse of the towers.

But one story that emanated from McCoy’s orbit emerged as a testament to the human spirit-- that of Greg Manning, the bass player in McCoy’s “The Rolling Bones” band, and his wife Lauren.

Both worked at CantorFitzgerald in the North Tower and the plane crashed into the floor of their offices, killing 750 of their friends and co-workers.

Greg was late for work that day as he was waiting for a

This is the view from Scott McCoy’s view from his 10th Street apartment in Midtown Manhattan, which is located 4 miles from the former site of the World Trade Center.

McCoy said when he first learned of the plane hitting the North Tower, he could see the smoke billowing in the near distance.

every day and wrote to their family and friends to keep them apprised.

The couple’s uplifting journey ultimately became a national bestseller entitled, “Love Greg and Lauren: A Powerful True Story of Courage, Hope and Survival.”

Lauren also wrote her own bestseller called, “Unmeasured Strength: A Story of Survival and Transformation.”

Scott McCoy worked in New

Lauren’s remarkable story York on 9/11. His band, The of resilience caught the attenRolling Bones, performed tion of then candidate Hillary at many fundraisers for the Clinton, who visited the spirited families of the 750 Cantorsurvivor at the hospital on sevFitzgerald employees who eral occasions. In July of 2016, perished in the attacks. The Lauren was the keynote speaker at the Democratic National wife of the bass player for Convention. the band, Lauren Manning,

Other celebrities took note suffered severe burns but of Lauren’s indomitable spirit. ended up recovering and Oprah invited the couple to her writing a bestseller about show, and Mick Jagger, who her stamina and courage. was touched by the couple’s babysitter, but Lauren happened journey of survival, and conto be entering the lobby of the nected to the fact that Greg was World Trade Center tower when a member of a Rolling Stones a fireball from the plane shot tribute band, called into the prodown an elevator shaft and blew gram. out the elevator doors.

Jagger gave the couple a

Lauren suffered burns on personal message of encourageover 80% of her body. ment and appreciation and told

“She fought for months Greg he was sending him an auand survived,” McCoy said. tographed guitar.

During her lengthy recov- Oprah then presented the ery, Greg sat by his wife’s side instrument to Greg.

“This is way cool,” Greg could be heard exclaiming in an audio clip of the show.

McCoy says the six-string guitar now is displayed on the wall in the couple’s house.

“Our band did multiple fundraising performances to support the families of the 750 killed from the Cantor-Fitzgerald,” McCoy said.

A 1969 graduate of Winchester Community High School, McCoy graduated from Ball State University in 1973, with a major in journalism and advertising, and as a Cardinal, played varsity volleyball.

After graduating, he moved to Los Angeles to work at the professional volleyball league, then moved up the ladder to a media planning job at Foote Cone Belding, one of the largest global advertising agencies, which led to a sales job at MTV when it launched in 1981.

He ultimately landed at CNN as VP of advertising sales in New York City.

Later on, after multiple executive positions for other media companies, McCoy would start his own independent advertising sales and marketing company called Malachite Media, LLC, where he is to this day.

He was working at his own business in his Manhattan apart-

ment on 9/11.

“My apartment overlooked a major hospital and the emergency room entrance,” he recalled. “The day of the attack, I looked down and saw the street lined three deep with gurneys awaiting the injured. None came.”

That night he went out with his girlfriend to get some dinner because “as a bachelor, there was nothing in the refrigerator.”

“There is always a low roar in New York City with lots of sirens and cars honking their horns,” he said. “That night, there was dead silence.

“The ever-present throngs of people walking day and night were missing,” he continued.

“Just stragglers. It looked like fog, but I think it was the haze created by the smoke from the towers that day that made it an eerie walk.

“The usual loud chatter and laughter in restaurants was subdued and quiet. There was a TV playing the news without sound. Most people did not go into work the next day.

“The odd smell of the tower fires lasted for weeks.”

Although the regular smell of Manhattan came back, the fog eventually lifted, the chatter and laughter returned, the impact of the most haunting day in recent history remains far-reaching.

McCoy moved back to Winchester eight years ago to be close to his family and continues to run his business.

He has visited the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero twice, but on the 20th anniversary of the attacks, he will stay in Winchester.

“I always, on the anniversary, keep thinking about the events of that day,” he said.

“New York City was eerily empty that night and the smell from the event lasted for weeks.

No one knew if it was over or if something else might happen in the next minute.

“We are all Americans and I can’t believe we are fighting each other today.”

Local student’s views Continued from page 10

gon. I also feel sorry for the ones who were walking on the streets when this happened.

I appreciate you keeping our country as safe as it could be!

I want to thank Mrs. Bush for writing the letter to Honeywell Grade School. I know how you feel because of the people who have died. Did you have some of your family that died? Our whole school went outside and sang America and God Bless America around the flag on September 14.

Sincerely, Ianelli Reyna

Sincerely, Kraig Van Wieringen Dear Pres. Bush and Mrs. Bush,I want to tell Mrs. Bush thank you for sending a letter to Honeywell School. That letter made us happy! I was scared when I heard that planes were crashing into the buildings and I was sad that some firefighters and other people died.

Sincerely, Valerie Granadas

Dear President and Mrs. Bush: Thank you Mrs. Bush for the letter your wrote to my school.

Mr. Bush I’m scared about what happened in New York and at Dear Pres, Bush and Mrs. Bush: the Pentagon. I hope you can I feel sorry for the people that make sure this doesn’t happen died September 11, 2001. I feel again. I hope you will help the sorry for all the military that people that were hurt.’ died in the Pentagon and the Sincerely, Lacey Simpson Twin Towers and for the loved ones that were lost. The people Dear President and Mrs. Bush: that did this should be punished. Mrs. Bush all of us at HonWill we go to war or not’? I bet eywell liked the note that you your job is really hard right now. gave us. Mrs. Sheppard read it

to us at our morning meeting: Of course, you probably don’t know what the morning meeting is do you Mrs. Bush? The morning meeting is when we meet in the gym and we say the pledge and sing America. President Bush, we all are supporting you the best we can. My family and I are supporting our next door neighbors too because one of their loved ones died in the World Trade Center.

Sincerely, Sara Hayn Dear Pres. Bush: I’m sorry some of our people died in New York City, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania. I’m sorry the World Trade Center Tower’s fell down. I’m sorry, you have to visit the damaged Pentagon in Washington D.C. My dad is a soldier at Ft. McCoy Wisconsin.

He will be home soon.

Sincerely, Tony Prewitt

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

16

September, 2021

3DVWRUDO 3HUVSHFWLYHV (Sept. 19, 2001) Our hope begins with our seeing the effect of evil firsthand

BY REV. WADE MERANDA First Presbyterian Church

Look what happened when all of us saw evil clearly.

PHOTO BY WENDY DAVIS Bob Sapienza, Billy Puckett, and Kevin Wallace are helping explain the events around 9/11 as part of the Stephen Siller Foundation’s Tunnel to Towers exhibit.

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By WENDY DAVIS, Reporter wdavis@ intranix.com From the Oct. 18, 2019 edition of the Times-Republic WATSEKA, IL - September, 11, 2001, is not being forgotten — thanks in part by those people who keep the memory in the forefront and who are educating the youths who were born after the devastation.

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation exhibit has made its way to Watseka this weekend, bringing it with it three retired firefighters — two of whom helped at the Twin Towers site for days after it came down.

Billy Puckett is a retired firefighter from Plano, Texas, and he is friends with the organizer of the foundation, formed in 2002 in dedication of Stephen Siller who died in the effort to save lives that day. Puckett has volunteered his time since 2013. The exhibit makes about 40 stops a year, ranging from 1-14 days each stop.

Two retired New York Fire Department firefighters, Bob Sapienza and Kevin Wallace, have traveled to Iroquois County to explain the tragedy of Sept. 11 and to remind visitors to keep the memory of those lost alive.

Sapienza retired from the NYFD in 1996 having been a firefighter for 23 years. hough retired, he — along with hundreds

of other retired firefighters — was at the site by 1 p.m. that day.

“It was just like you saw it on TV. You’d drive over the George Washington Bridge and look to the right; you couldn’t see towers. All you could see was the smoke.”

He got there and worked with a rescue company doing search and rescue. “Just about everybody was on a pile digging.”

He said he was there a few days working 22-hour days before he went home. “After that you just can’t do any more.

“It just works on you. You do your job.

You’d only think about {what happened} when you quit.”

Wallace, a former Navyman, had just retired from the NYFD in April of 2001 to begin a second career as a nurse. On Sept. 12 he was called out of retirement to help, and he did just that for two weeks.

“Most collapses there are void areas and people survive. We were for sure thinking people would survive. We realized quit quickly there wouldn’t be anyone,” he said.

Sapienza and Wallace, who once were neighbors, have been working with the foundation for five years.

The reason for doing it — “I don’t want the memory of all those guys to be forgotten,” said Sapienza.

“Never forget Sept. 11.”

Both men are like a number of responders

at the site; they don’t want to talk about what they saw. They say they do what they do in honor of those lives lost.

And, Sapienza pointed out, hundreds have died since the site was cleared from exposures relating to their clean up work.

Or, there are many firefighters and police officers who helped at the site who enlisted or reactivated in the service to continue their calling for their country.

Both men have noted in their presentation that the kids want to know more, they’re learning about what they were not exposed to.

“The biggest thing for me is talking to the kids — how do you explain what happened?

You can’t,” said Wallace. “This one day in time made such an impact on lives today, the kids’ lives today.”

“They’re the future. They’re the ones who will have to remember,” Sapienza said.

Puckett explained that the foundation serves the families of emergency responders and military heroes who have lost their lives.

One of the main purposes of the foundation is to make sure the families of the deceased have a home of their own, whether it’s built new or remodeled and the mortgage paid off. The foundation does the same for those who are disabled, creating a home customized to best fit the person’s needs.

For every image of evil smashing into buildings and killing thousands of people, I have seen at least a thousand images of good silently sifting though the rubble of broken buildings, cities, bodies, and families. For every expression of indiscriminate hate, vengeance or revenge, I have heard at least ten expressions of discriminating restraint, patience, and clarity before action.

For every quick and easy explanation of evil, I have heard thousands of people conversing, pondering, praying, and searching together for divine insight. For every sad and honest assessment of “what we should have done to prevent it,” I have heard a country repenting of its complacency and blindness yet moving on with a steely resolve to protect itself better. For every gas station that chose to profiteer in our moment of tragedy, I understand hundreds chose not to. For every hurtful act supposedly done in the name of God, thousands of healing acts done in the name of God. For every pre-attack perception that God offers special protection to us “chosen” Americans, that nothing massively bad could possibly happen to our people on our land, I have heard many conversations about our need for a renewed interest and passion for the plight of all God’s creation across every continent - that we are somehow connected. that their struggles need to be our struggles too, that compassion, conversation and debate lead to security, not isolationism and missile shields.

Look at what happened this week. For every doubt I have had about the preponderance of goodness in the population, I stand humbled and new. I have seen, like never before in my lifetime, an overwhelming wave of good people pounding down over the evil deeds of a very few individuals. How assuring that has been for me during this week of uncertainty. How heartening it is to really see good respond with its overwhelming force of compassion and restraint. How amazing it is to see this basic goodness in people revealed with such clarity, in all categories of people. After seeing all those who are helping out in so many ways, I hear little talk of these people in terms of their being Christians, Jews, Muslims, Republicans, Democrats, homosexuals or bisexuals, young or old, from the left or right, or of their being black, white or Hispanic, or rich or poor. All of these people are there and are doing good. To see the effects of evil firsthand is disturbing to say the least. When “Thou shall not kill” is violated, those of most every faith are profoundly agitated. Something very basic about the intention of creation is provoked within us. Red flags go up. It seems to awaken our goodness, and we cannot rest until we respond - caring for the victims and stopping the killing.

This week, I have seen that so much of our hope begins with our “seeing” the effects of evil firsthand. Here, television and instant media are good for us. Once enough of us brave the sight, or care enough to see and look at the victims, an overwhelming disturbance builds, and our created goodness inevitably moves in to heal the victims and hunt down the source of the evil- the violators - and commence appropriate justice.

Hope calls us to have good eyes, persistent looking, a good curiosity, and unfortunately a good stomach to horrific scenes of suffering. Hope calls us to have faith that there are enduring forces of good in the world, which time and time again in history do overwhelm evil when unleashed.

Continued on page 18

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Although 16 years have passed, we remember the events of September 11, 2001 as if they happened yesterday. On this day of mourning and remembrance, we pause to pay tribute to the police, firefighters and first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice to save others and to all of the September 11th victims whose lives were cut short.

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

September, 2021

5HPHPEUDQFH 'D\ FHUHPRQ\ FRQGXFWHG From the Sept. 12, 2013 edition of the Times-Republic

By JORDAN CROOK Reporter The terrorist attacks that rocked the U.S. in the morning hours of Sept. 11, 2001, left an indelible mark on this nation and its people.

While the attacks crated a great deal of fear, suspicion and anger in the nation’s populace, it also secured an enduring appreciation of the service of firefighters, police officers, EMTs and other emergency services personnel who rallied together to respond to the tragic events in New York.

That appreciation hasn’t wavered never 12 years later.

Iroquois County emergency services personnel were honored Wednesday night by the Iroquois County Republican Women during a 9/11 Remembrance Day ceremony at the Cissna Park Fire Station.

Susan Wynn Bence, Iroquois County Republican Women’s Club president, said this was the second year for the event and believes it has grown this year.

She discussed how appreciative she and the rest of the group were to county emergency personnel for the service they provide their communities.

Bence also discussed a memorial monument the Miner Charitable Foundation recently constructed next to then village hall in Crescent City.

She said this monument is dedicated to all firefighters, EMS, ESDA, dispatchers, coroners and police who have passed away in the line of duty.

Bence read a list of those names which i’ll be place don the monument.

Bence said everyone has their own memories and stories from Sept. 11, 2001, and shared her own story with audience members during the ceremony.

Bence said she had worked with U.S. Army Gen. Timothy Maude while she was serving as a family enrichment coordinator for the U.S. Army Family Services at the U.S.-European Command Headquarters for Europe.

She described Maude as “one of the most family and team oriented generals in the U.S. Army.”

Bence said Maude honored her by presenting her with the “Commander’s Coin”, which she said is a military coin that is generally presented to people in their unit in recognition of special achievement and is rarely given to civilians.

Maude as the highest ranking military officer killed in the Sept. 11 attacks. He was killed while attending a meeting when the American Airlines Flight 77 crashed in the west end of the Pentagon., “Gen. Maude, you are one of my true heroes,” Bence said.

State Rep. Josh Harms, R-106, also spoke during the ceremony, sharing his thoughts on how honoring Sept. 11 has changed in the 12 years since the attacks.

He said many remembrance ceremonies still focus on the events of Sept. 11,2001, and the people who responded to it, but also honor those people who continue on doing those jobs.

“What I find very fascinating about people who do it in rural areas is usually you’re doing it for free or you’re paying for your own training and taking time off work to do it,” Harms said.

Harms said he is very appreciative of the services provided by firefighters and other emergency services personnel due to an experience with his family when his parents went through a fire three years ago.

He said he wants emergency services personnel to know they are appreciated.

“I’m sure not only myself, but everybody in this room is very appreciative,” Harms said.

“And we want you to know that we know what you’re doing and we consider it a great thing and a great service to the community.”

Harms also discussed how the country came together after the attacks to stand united.

“I always look at the United States as siblings, we don’t every get along until somebody else does something to us and then we all rally together like no other country you’ve every seen,” he said. “I think it’s one of those things that makes us so great. “ One person who was able to witness, firsthand, how volunteers from across the nation came together in New York to

17

Historical Archive

3DVWRUDO 3HUVSHFWLYHV This article was originally published in the Sept. 26, 2001 edition of The Chronicle, a publication of Community Media Group

BY REV. STEVE NELSON

Photo by Jordan Crook Two ladder trucks hold up the American flag in a position of honor Wednesday night during the 9/11 Remembrance Day ceremony in Cissna Park. help with clean-up in the aftermath of the attacks was Wayne Knapp.

Knapp became involved with the clean-up effort after a conversation with a secretary from the National Funeral Director’s office in Milwaukee.

He said they were discussing a totally unrelated matter and was finishing up the conversation when the secretary causally asked Knapp when she could schedule him to work two weeks at the clean-up site.

“I gulped a little bit and came up with some flimsy excuses,” he said. “And we ended the conversation.”

Knapp, who was spending time in Florida at the time, said he felt almost like a hypocrite for telling the secretary a lie and felt bad for not being willing to go to New York City to help with the effort.

Knapp immediately called the secretary back to volunteer and asked what would be expected of him.

While Knapp was told he would be working in shifts 14 days straight, Knapp quickly found out shifts really didn’t apply to the work they were doing.

“This wasn’t a 4-8 job,” he said. “This was a job that we put in time whenever we wanted to and whenever we could.”

Knapp said he often tried to get to the medical examiner’s office between 6:30-7 a.m. each morning and would often stay until 6-7 p.m. each night.

He said a lot of the work depended upon how many positive ID workers at Ground Zero had made each day.

One disturbing fact Knapp related to the audience about

his experience in New York City during the aftermath was the 14 refrigerated semi-trailers that were parked near where h worked that were filled with approximately 18,000 body parts that were unidentifiable up to that point.

Knapp said identifying these remains and returning them to their family members was what teams were working on while he was there.

Knapp’s responsibilities were mainly administrative, handling cases of those who had died in the attacks and checking each file for errors. Once that was completed, they would notify the families.

While Knapp said they had the option to contact the families over the phone or handle the disposition of the remains through a funeral home of the family’s choice, he credited the medical examiner with insisting that they sit down with every family, discuss all the details and handle any questions they had.

“He was very concerned that we didn’t rush them, that we took all the time they needed to work through their grief and help them through it,” Knapp said.

This personal interaction with the family members is what really left a lasting impression on Knapp.

Knapp said the medical examiner issued hundreds, if not more, of death certificates for people whose bodies were never found.

He said this was necessary Continued on page 18

HOOPESTON, IL – Where was God on September 11?

When observing the assault upon America and America’s freedom and economy, we have heard people ask, “Where was God when this was happening’?”

The answer to that question is this: he was where he always has been. Believe it or not, nothing, takes God by surprise, not even a disaster like we saw in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

While Americans stood frozen in front of their televisions and viewed what seemed to he a nightmare or possibly a horrible dream, God had not missed what happened. Be sure that vengeance will he carried out by God himself whether or not America is able to bring those who are guilty to justice.

As our representatives stood on the Capitol steps and sang “God Bless America,” I wondered how many of them felt that because of our stand or misguided stand on the separation of church and state, that it was wrong to sing a song that took for granted that we have a God in heaven and then to sing it on government property besides.

The problem is God has been so good to us and then we push him out of our lives. We want to be atheists when all is well and Christians when trouble comes.

Do you think that God is a puppet up in the sky somewhere? That we can put him on a string, and in some way make him perform when we need him?

Some people believe this was a wake up call for America.

I believe that is true also. But what is the purpose of this wake up call? If you want the truth, our faith is in our military and in the almighty American dollar. Most people simply want to wake up America’s defen-

sive needs. If America doesn’t wake up to its moral and spiritual needs, our defense is only a band-aid over a problem between us and God, not a group of terrorists.

It would be a good thing if America could go back to its roots spiritually and not try to rule God out of the lives of their children. Somehow we tend to believe that we can teach evolution in school, and disregard God’s teaching altogether, then call on God when the chips are down.

Or better yet, ask the dumb question, “Where was God on September 11th?” Let it be said that no nation can survive for very long without the help of the God. Someone once asked Abraham Lincoln if God was on our side?

His reply was this “I’m not concered with whether God is on our side, but whether we are on his side.” If God is on our side, we can still trust ourselves. If we are on God’s side, we can trust in him.

Who can pray for America? The Bible says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.”

Those people who know the God of the hills and the valleys, those who are faithful in the good days, those who trust their eternal souls with the one who said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you your rest.” Those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior from sin.

If our God is only taken seriously when we are in trouble, then sit back and let those who know God personally pray.

Better yet, reach out and accept Christ as your savior too.

He died on the cross because he loves you and he also promised to those who truly follow him, that he would never leave them.

Where was God on September 11, 2001? Where he always has been, up in Heaven trusting that His word, the Bible, would be read and believed. Salvation is of the Lord.

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

18

September, 2021

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BY JORDAN CROOK Chronicle Editor JoAnn Charbonneau was putting the final touches on the Sept. 12, 2001 edition of The Chronicle, Hoopeston’s newspaper, when she heard the first reports of some kind of incident in New York.

Charbonneau, who served as editor of The Chronicle for eight years, said she went into work around 7 a.m. that morning with the plan of finishing up that week’s edition of The Chronicle as the paper went to press at 8:30 a.m.

“I’m finishing it up when one of our employees walks in and says ‘I just saw on the news, something about a plane hitting a tower,’” she said.

Initially, she said, they thought it was a small private plane that had hit one of the towers.

“That happened in New York,” she said. “We thought ‘That’s too bad,’ assuming it was a small private craft that had hit something.”

Shortly afterwards, Charbonneau said Mary Lou Brackmann, another staff member, came in and told them there was something going on New York.

“She came in late and she’s like ‘There’s something going on in New York,’” she said.

At the time, The Chronicle of-

fice had a television set with an antenna in the conference room, so Charbonneau and the others went to turn it on and see what was happening.

“This was in the days before Facebook and the internet and everything,” she said. “We had cell phones, but you couldn’t text or anything like that.”

After they had a better idea of what was going on, Charbonneau said they all wanted to reach out to those they cared about.

“The urge was everybody wanted to touch base with their loved ones,” she said.

Even though she knew they were at home and safe, Charbonneau called her parents to check on them and they talked about what was going on.

She also reached out to Bob Charbonneau, her boyfriend at the time and future husband, who lived in Kankakee and worked at US Steel in Gary, Ind. They emailed back and forth during the day and Bob told her that there were Harrier jets and other kinds of aircraft sitting on the slag piles at US Steel because the government was concerned something would happen in Chicago following the attacks in New York and the Pentagon.

“You didn’t want to do any-

thing that day,” she said. “The news just kept unfolding and it just kept getting worse and worse.”

Charbonneau was in the Rotary Club at the time and went to the Rotary Club meeting at noon in a restaurant in downtown Hoopeston.

“That’s all anybody could talk about,” she said.

During the day, Charbonneau said all she could think about was getting her work done so she could go be with Bob. “You wanted to be with your loved ones,” she said.

Charbonneau recalls getting done at The Chronicle at about 3 p.m. and heading up to Kankakee to Bob’s house. Once he got home and they picked up some dinner, she recalls sitting on the couch and watching the news throughout the rest of the evening.

“I remember sitting on the couch with him watching the news until 8 or 9 p.m.,” she said.

Charbonneau headed home after that and remembers how little traffic there was on Route 49 that night.

“It was a beautiful night and there was a beautiful sunset and I’m listening to Pres. Bush on the radio,” she said. “It was just very chilling.”

The first thing Charbon-

3DVWRUDO

Continued from page 17

We saw this week what seeing can do. What else might it do’? If we all took the time to purposely look and faithfully see other evils from which people suffer today, what goodness might our disturbance unleash?

This week tells me that seeing is a crucial step in salvation. Years ago God first “saw” the tragedy of Israel’s enslavements.

“I have seen the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry; I know their sufferings; and I have come down to deliver them...” (Exodus .1:7) It all began with a willingness to see.

As a person of faith, I feel called to better sensitize myself to the evil of killing by seeing

more intentionally, by daring to care enough to look, as God cares. I don’t know exactly how to do that yet, but I feel I should.

I know society only allows us to see certain types of the others sadly remain hidden and tolerated. Perhaps, if we dare to expose and see them together, as we have done so well this week, we would unleash God’s goodness on the other evils that silently kill hundreds of people each day for no good reason.

I saw this week massive goodness overwhelming evil quite forcefully and quite naturally. Could it be that we really have learned something from a human history filled with failed responses of massive indiscrim-

inate revenge? Is thoughtless evil as a response to evil less popular today?

After this week, I am in awe at what people coming together to see can do. Like never before it has united the overwhelming goodness in people and has evil on the run. I desperately want to find some flicker of hope in this tragedy and hold on. Over 5,000 people were killed, for days it left me unbelievably sad. But 250 million Americans saw (and countless others), and for the last few days that has made me unbelievably hopeful for these victims and for other victims of today and tomorrow.

neau saw upon returning to Hoopeston were huge lines of cars waiting to get gas at Casey’s on Penn Street.

She didn’t know if people were lining up for gas because they were afraid the country would be going to war or not, but decided that she needed to get gas and waited in line for roughly half an hour to get some.

Charbonneau also recalled how odd it was to see the sky that day without any plane trails since all flights were grounded after the attacks.

When Charbonneau returned to work the next day, she jumped back into “journalism mode” to cover the local angles related to the terrorist attacks.

She hadn’t included anything about the attacks in the Sept. 12, 2001 edition of The Chronicle because she knew anything she printed would be out of date by the time it was out for readers the next day.

Instead, she focused on getting coverage related to the attacks ready for the Sept. 19, 2001 edition.

Charbonneau had a plethora of calls from local residents informing her of local connections to people who were in New York or at the Pentagon.

She recalled there were two

people with local connections that were at the sites of the attacks.

Cindy Lersten, who had several family members in the Cheneyville, East Lynn and Hoopeston area at the time of the attacks, was working at the Pentagon around that time. Lersten was among those safely evacuated from the Pentagon and was not working in the section of the building that was attacked.

William Tselepis, the son-inlaw of David and Julie Christine, of Hoopeston, was among the thousands of Americans who died when the hijacked passenger jets struck the World Trade Center in New York City.

Tselepis worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm. His office was on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center.

After the attacks, Hoopeston residents looked to take action to help out in some way.

“It was really sort of a surreal feeling,” she said. “It was like what can we do in a little town?”

Charbonneau said several local residents banded together to raise money for relief efforts through street corner collections.

“Everybody wanted to do

something,” she said. “They didn’t know what to do, but they wanted to do something because they just couldn’t imagine it.”

According to an article from the Sept. 26, 2001 edition of The Chronicle, a street corner collection, organized by Kathleen Margevich and Kim Burch, raised $5,570.18.

The money was sent to the Chicago Tribune Disaster Relief Fund, an effort of the McCormick Foundation, which will match all contributions at 50 cents on the dollar. With the matching funds, the total contributed on behalf of Hoopeston was $8,355.17. Along with collecting donations, volunteers also handed out more than 2,200 red, white and blue lapel ribbons.

Charbonneau said a spirit of patriotism and unity spread through the community in the wake of the attacks.

“The patriotic spirit was really alive and people really were pulling together,” she said. “It was a surreal day and a surreal few weeks because people were just much more patriotic. And there was the fear of is it going to happen some place else.

People didn’t know what was going to happen next and that was kind of the scary part.”

$UHD UHVLGHQWV VKRZ WKHLU WUXH FRORUV From the Sept. 19, 2001 edition of The Chronicle

BY JOANN GOCKING Managing Editor American flags are fluttering in the breeze this week and splashes of red, white and blue are also dangling from many people’s lapels in remembrance of last week’s terrorist tragedy.

As a memorial for the victims of the terrorist attacks, many Americans are wearing various colors of remembrance ribbons on their lapels. Red, white and blue ribbons appear to be the most popular, although black ribbons and white ribbons are also being worn.

There has been a run on the sale of American flags at businesses around the country and locally, as well as patriotic ribbons and other decorations.

Some businesses and groups in the area are also using the ribbons as a way to raise funds for disaster relief efforts.

Angie Simpson of Extreme Attitudes Salon in Hoopeston is selling red, white and blue lapel ribbons for $1. All proceeds from the sale of the

ribbons will go the American Red Cross disaster relief fund. Craftsmen Printing of Hoopeston also donated cards which accompany the ribbons and explain the significance of the red, white and blue colors. Simpson’s ribbons are available at several locations around Hoopeston, including her shop, The Chronicle, WHPO, Weber’s, Kankakee Federal and Compton’s.

The Rossville-Alvin High School cheerleaders are ‘selling black lapel ribbons for 50 cents each with all proceeds going to disaster relief. Wilma Knight of Gift Baskets by Wilma in Rossville is giving away small red, white and blue lapel ribbons to anyone who visits her shop.

“I noticed a lot of people didn’t have flags and I wanted to do something so people could show their patriotism,” Knight said. Traditions Flower Shop of Rossville is also giving away small lapel ribbons and selling larger lapel ribbons and large decorative bows. Half of the proceeds from the ribbon sales will go to the American Red-Cross disaster relief fund.

&HUHPRQ\ Continued from page 17

so that family members could move forward with insurance claims and other matters of probate.

However, Knapp said, the medical examiner had to have some kind of supporting evidence that the person was actually thee at the time of the disaster.

Dealing with one such case stuck with Knapp.

Knapp said a woman was talking to her husband, who was in the south tower of the World Trade Center, shortly after the north tower had been hit and was on fire.

“But he said, ‘I’m in the south tower and I’m okay,” Knapp said. “He apparently turned his chair around and told her ‘there’s a plane coming directly at us and his last words were “oh, my God’.”

This tragic tale has remained

with Knapp ever since.

“Well, stories like that you remember for a long, long time,” he said.

“Another tale Knapp related from his time in New York dealt with securing Bibles for a chaplain at the clean-up site.

Knapp said one of the chaplains mentioned that he had exhausted his supply of Bibles after giving them out to families who wanted them and simply didn’t know where to find anymore.

“Knapp knew that his church disperses Bibles to anyone in the area who wanted one and knew there was an overabundance of Bibles located in storage in Cissna Park.

Knapp said several boxes of Bibles were shipped to New York and the chaplain was overjoyed to receive them.

“He looked at me a little bit

later and he said, “you know this is just further proof that prayer really works’,” he said.

To close out his speech, Knapp thanked the emergency services personnel present for all that they do.

He said that when he was starting out in mortuary science, practically every funeral home in the U.S. had an ambulance service because they were the only ones in the community who had a vehicle that was able to accommodate a person in a prone position.

“About the only thing we had to offer was tender loving care,” Knapp said. “Today, you guys have so much better equipment, you are so much better trained, which we appreciate, and we know that most of this you do on your own time and I just want to say thank you and God bless.”

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REMEMBERING 9/11: 20 Years Later ��������

September, 2021

19

*LDQW 2OG *ORU\ Á\LQJ LQ 5RVVYLOOH From the Sept. 19, 2001 edition of The Chronicle

BY CATHY DOUGLASS For The Chronicle All across America, flags are flying as Americans express their feelings of patriotism and support for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Rossville is no exception. Flags are on display throughout the village and especially in the downtown area.

The most prominent flag on display is on the side of Bray’s General Store, at the corner of Chicago (Route 1) and Attica Streets. The 28’ x 30’ flag was mounted on Friday afternoon.

The giant Stars and Stripes originally flew over the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In March 1996, it was given to the Indiana Military Department by then-Sen. John Myer to fly at the grand opening of the new National Guard Armory at Lafayette, Ind.

When it was time for the flag to be destroyed, Jud Fenner, of Rossville, who is the senior personnel sergeant in charge of flags at the Lafayette National Guard Unit, brought the flag home.

This week, he decided it would be a good time to fly the flag again, so he offered it to Bray’s for display on their building. It took several people working to mount the flag and keep it from touching the ground on a sunny, windy day. Helping in the project on this day that had been declared a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance by President Bush were Mike Bray and his son, Michael, Gene Roach of Genco Electric who supplied the boom truck, Seth Zarate, Jud Fenner and Matt Cox. The Brays, Mike and Tina, say the flag will remain mounted on their building as long as they can maintain the proper lighting and respect for the flag as is required in national flag codes.

Though many years have passed, those who perished have not been forgotten.

We remember the courageous efforts of the emergency responders, the every day heroes who risked their own safety to help others, and all those who lost their lives in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, the survivors and those who still grieve for loved ones as we observe a moment of silence in their honor on this somber anniversary.

+++++++

CHRONICLE PHOTO/CATHY DOUGLASS Volunteers worked Friday to mount this giant American flag at Bray’s General Store in Rossville.

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This article was originally published in the Sept.

11, 2001 edition of the Ludington Daily News, a publication of Community Media Group

By CHERYL HIGGINSON

LUDINGTON, MI – Ludington area residents were not isolated from the tragedy which struck the nation Tuesday. Former residents now living in New York and near Washington, as well as residents there on business, will carry their own private nightmares with them forever.

Vickie Raven, owner of Raven’s in downtown Ludington, was in New York along with her store manager, Debbie Perow, for ‘fashion week’ in the city. The two had looked forward to the trip to buy clothing for the store.

Instead the trip turned into a nightmare and this morning the pair were still not sure if they would be able to get home today or not. Perow was especially upset she could not get home as scheduled Tuesday because her father is undergoing open heart surgery at Mercy Hospital in Muskegon today.

The two were in a cab headed to an appointment at Tony Bahama’s clothing when the first tower fell. They had been aware that something was going on but were unsure of what, until that instant.

“We were six blocks away from the towers and all of a sudden we started seeing people just running hysterically in the streets, crying, screaming. There were just people everywhere.

We got out and went upstairs to our appointment and there were so many people affected there, ones who had family or friends that worked in the towers.”

Raven said the pair went back to the Omni Hotel where they had been staying the two nights previous. Hotels were letting anyone who had

September, 2021

Close to the terror

stayed the night before to check back in.

It took the pair over an hour to get through to their families in Ludington to let them know they were OK.

“Chris (my husband) thought that maybe we were in the World Trade building,” Raven said. “I hadn’t left my appointment schedule with him and he was really panicking by the time I got through to him.”

Raven said the scene Tuesday night in the city was eerie.

“The whole town was in a somber state.

There was absolutely no traffic except police were everywhere. We could have walked across the bridges. The only restaurants that were open were the ones that were in the hotels. I’ve never seen anything like it. Debbie and I went out and walked around last night and it was just plain spooky.

“We stopped when we were out walking last night and were looking one of the huge TV screens when they announced there could be as many as 10,000 causalities,” Raven said. “And the crowd standing there just gasped and people started crying. It was terrible.

“I guess the one good thing about all this is seeing how the people of New York came together. It became a small town. There were customers waiting on customers in the restaurants because there were so many people who couldn’t get into the city to work.”

Raven said this morning that lower Manhattan was shut down. People already there were allowed to leave but no inbound traffic was being allowed into the city.

The pair were scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. flight today, but early this morning did not know if they would get out or not.

“They say everything is shut down until noon, so we’re not sure what’s going to happen,

but we’re determined we’re going to get out of here today,” Raven said. “We’ll either take a different flight and have somebody come after us, or rent a car, if we can find one, and drive home.

“We want to get out of here. We weren’t close enough to get dust on us, but we were too close for comfort.”

One former Ludington resident described the scene in New York City Tuesday as ‘surreal’ as he surveyed the chaos in the streets from his apartment window only a couple blocks away from the World Trade Center.

Michael Lee, son of Dr. and Mrs. Khang Hoon Lee, felt his apartment building shake and heard a loud boom when the first plane hit the tower Tuesday morning.

Lee, who graduated from Columbia University last spring with a degree in architecture, is self-employed.

He said he couldn’t see the World Trade Towers directly from his apartment. He got the news on TV and realized exactly what had happened.

“It was weird because I was watching the ‘Today’ show when I heard this really low jet flying literally right outside my window and then I heard a boom.

“I ran down the street and could see the fire and smoke and the chaos,” he said. “Then I ran back to my apartment and went back about 10 minutes later and the tower was already gone.

There were floods of people scurrying everywhere. People crying, screaming. Just hysteria.”

Lee said Tuesday afternoon that the city was completely shut down with all the bridges, tunnels and subways closed off.

“The only thing I can see is emergency services people, firefighters and police,” he added.

“It’s just a constant stream of them.”

Debris and dust shrouded his apartment

building.

“This is something I will never forget,” he said.

“It’s like the movies we’ve all watched about something like this happening and we think it never will ... but it did. I think it makes us all realize how vulnerable the U.S. really is.”

Ed Kruska, who serves in the United States Coast Guard and works at the service’s Washington headquarters, was on his way to work from his home in Alexandria, Va., when he heard an explosion and saw the smoke when the Pentagon was hit.

“I thought it was probably a fire in Crystal City which is just a little way away from the Pentagon,” Kruska said. “But then I got by National Airport and as I got closer I could see that it was the Pentagon.

“I could see people just streaming out from that area and all headed back over the 14th Street bridge,” Kruska said. “And I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”

As he talked Tuesday afternoon two American F-16’s flew over his home, doing surveillance work. He was one of thousands of federal employees who were sent home as a precautionary measure Tuesday.

Kruska said that had his day been a ‘normal’ one he would have already been at work when the plane hit. The Coast Guard headquarters is about four miles away from the Pentagon.

“I had to take my wife into work this morning and then drop our car off for some repairs,” he said. “Had I not done that I would have already been at work. I don’t know if that would have been better or worse.

“I, like everybody, am just stunned,” he said. “All the flags are at half mast and it’s eerily quiet. Just kind of spooky.”

Pop culture Continued from page 8

national symbols. These appeared soon after the attacks. Groups often had them produced in local shops and sold them as fundraisers for charities. Large retailers followed suit, though increasingly slogans were downplayed and designs became more stylish. Apart from displays of the flag and bumper stickers that continued to announce a sentiment first expressed in the fall of 2001, these seemed to be the most enduring expressions of patriotism after 9/11.

There is very little of this sort of clothing memorabilia from World War II. The technology for quickly producing durable designs on clothing as might be done at a local T-shirt shop did not exist. Such clothing never became stylish. Indeed, in an era when the military absorbed a substantial part of the nation’s textile production and civilian styles changed to conserve cloth, such a practice would have been considered wasteful. This is not to say that WWII had no impact on American clothing.

Some designers sought to mimic uniforms in the cut of clothing and in accessories. Children’s playsuits in the era sometimes adopted a style similar to uniforms. But civilian clothing of the era was worn until it wore out and few examples survive.

By the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, America’s mobilization campaign and the ongoing conflicts in Europe and Asia had familiarized children with a world of war. Children’s toys reflected world events and toys for boys especially by late 1941 began to turn to military themes. This accelerated when the United States entered the war. The result is a substantial number of toys directly related to the conflict. Although restrictions on strategic materials limited what manufacturers could produce, the war years saw children playing with toy guns, boats, planes, paper dolls, jigsaw puzzles, and board games. Coloring books showed Allied aircraft bombing the enemy and American soldiers charging ahead.

Children’s toys and games did not respond directly to the September 11 attacks with a wave of militarism. Games, puzzles, and coloring books reflected the growing interest in patriotism. Indeed, the one area of toys--at least from a review of ads--that seems to touch on September 11 was action figures related to rescue workers such as firefighters and police officers. In February, for example, Target offered an “FDNY collectible firefighter action figure” for $24.99, five dollars of which went to

charity.

This highlights another significant difference between the artifacts of the World War II era and those of September 11. More than 16 million Americans served in the armed forces in World War II. Virtually everyone was connected through blood, marriage, or friendship to people who went off to war. Those in the nation’s military were the heroes of their day. Blue service stars indicating a family member in service hung in many windows. A category of jewelry known as “sweetheart” jewelry depicting service stars, emblems of the nation’s armed forces, insignia of rank, and military symbols was common.

The heroes portrayed in the artifacts responding to 9/11 were members of civilian services, especially firefighters, rather than military figures.

Manufacturers from both eras surely sought to profit from the quickening patriotism after the attacks of December 7 and September 11.

In the year after September 11 Americans saw an astounding number of items dressed up in red, white, and blue. Many of these items gave us symbols with which to speak of our love of country and show our sympathy for the victims of terrorism. Manufactur-

ers of some items donated profits from sales to charitable organizations raising money for those affected by the attacks.

Companies that produced items for the collectible market–Hummel, Bradford Exchange, Danbury Mint, to name a few—rushed to have something in patriotic garb to offer. But somewhere along the line the use of red, white, and blue ran amok. Or perhaps it is fairer to say that fashion sometimes replaced patriotism. How else can one explain such products as beach towels, golf towels, flip flop sandals, and blankets with the American flag? Or flatware, snowboards, panties, tennis shoes, and contact lenses with a flag motif? And who could resist a doormat bearing the slogan “United We Stand” and a “Stars & Stripes sofa,” complete with a matching loveseat?

Manufacturers of patriotic goods in the years after Pearl Harbor were certainly capable of stepping beyond the bounds of good taste and were not above slapping some stars and stripes on a product to sell it. Perhaps their efforts somehow seem quaint after so many years. But it was also a different time. Portrayals of the American flag were generally done with respect.

Americans in 2001 had a material cul-

ture that was far richer in volume than did Americans of World War II. More items were available on store shelves; we owned more stuff. We lived in–and continue to live in–a global economy with foreign producers quick to respond to American markets. Many of that era’s trinkets and baubles were made overseas, often in China, but in WWII such imports hardly existed. Americans then did not live with limits on strategic materials that must be devoted to a war effort.

In the early 1940s Americans were called upon to sacrifice for the common good–to stretch critical resources by salvage drives and rationing, to pay for the war by buying bonds and saving for victory. Americans’ goal was to win a war and the artifacts of the era show that.

Following September 11 the American economy stumbled and we were called upon to spend for prosperity. The material culture of 9/11 amply demonstrated a growing patriotism and sense of unity. It displayed anger at an enemy, but one that was difficult–with the exception of Osama bin Laden–to put a face to. But it was more about remembering our losses than about achieving victory.

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September, 2021

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Pastoral Perspectives (Sept. 19, 2001)

Our hope begins with our seeing the effect of evil firsthand

By Rev. Wade Meranda First Presbyterian Church Look what happened when all of us saw evil clearly.

For every image of evil smashing into buildings and killing thousands of people, I have seen at least a thousand images of good silently sifting though the rubble of broken buildings, cities, bodies, and families. For every expression of indiscriminate hate, vengeance or revenge, I have heard at least ten expressions of discriminating restraint, patience, and clarity before action.

For every quick and easy explanation of evil, I have heard thousands of people conversing, pondering, praying, and searching together for divine insight. For every sad and honest assessment of “what we should have done to prevent it,” I have heard a country repenting of its complacency and blindness yet moving on with a steely resolve to protect itself better. For every gas station that chose to profiteer in our moment of tragedy, I understand hundreds chose not to. For every hurtful act supposedly done in the name of God, thousands of healing acts done in the name

of God. For every pre-attack perception that God offers special protection to us “chosen” Americans, that nothing massively bad could possibly happen to our people on our land, I have heard many conversations about our need for a renewed interest and passion for the plight of all God’s creation across every continent - that we are somehow connected. that their struggles need to be our struggles too, that compassion, conversation and debate lead to security, not isolationism and missile shields.

Look at what happened this week. For every doubt I have had about the preponderance of goodness in the population, I stand humbled and new. I have seen, like never before in my lifetime, an overwhelming wave of good people pounding down over the evil deeds of a very few individuals. How assuring that has been for me during this week of uncertainty. How heartening it is to really see good respond with its overwhelming force of compassion and restraint. How amazing it is to see this basic goodness in people revealed with such clarity, in all categories of people. After seeing all

those who are helping out in so many ways, I hear little talk of these people in terms of their being Christians, Jews, Muslims, Republicans, Democrats, homosexuals or bisexuals, young or old, from the left or right, or of their being black, white or Hispanic, or rich or poor. All of these people are there and are doing good. To see the effects of evil firsthand is disturbing to say the least. When “Thou shall not kill” is violated, those of most every faith are profoundly agitated. Something very basic about the intention of creation is provoked within us. Red flags go up. It seems to awaken our goodness, and we cannot rest until we respond - caring for the victims and stopping the killing.

This week, I have seen that so much of our hope begins with our “seeing” the effects of evil firsthand. Here, television and instant media are good for us. Once enough of us brave the sight, or care enough to see and look at the victims, an overwhelming disturbance builds, and our created goodness inevitably moves in to heal the victims and hunt down the source of the evil- the violators - and commence appropriate

justice.

Hope calls us to have good eyes, persistent looking, a good curiosity, and unfortunately a good stomach to horrific scenes of suffering. Hope calls us to have faith that there are enduring forces of good in the world, which time and time again in history do overwhelm evil when unleashed.

We saw this week what seeing can do. What else might it do’? If we all took the time to purposely look and faithfully see other evils from which people suffer today, what goodness might our disturbance unleash? This week tells me that seeing is a crucial step in salvation.

Years ago God first “saw” the tragedy of Israel’s enslavements. “I have seen the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry; I know their sufferings; and I have come down to deliver them...” (Exodus .1:7) It all began with a willingness to see.

As a person of faith, I feel called to better sensitize myself to the evil of killing by seeing more intentionally, by daring to care enough to look, as God cares. I don’t know exactly how to do that yet, but I feel I should. I know so-

ciety only allows us to see certain types of the others sadly remain hidden and tolerated. Perhaps, if we dare to expose and see them together, as we have done so well this week, we would unleash God’s goodness on the other evils that silently kill hundreds of people each day for no good reason.

I saw this week massive goodness overwhelming evil quite forcefully and quite naturally. Could it be that we really have learned something from a human history filled with failed responses of massive indiscriminate revenge? Is thoughtless evil as a response to evil less popular today?

After this week, I am in awe at what people coming together to see can do.

Like never before it has united the overwhelming goodness in people and has evil on the run. I desperately want to find some flicker of hope in this tragedy and hold on. Over 5,000 people were killed, for days it left me unbelievably sad. But 250 million Americans saw (and countless others), and for the last few days that has made me unbelievably hopeful for these victims and for other victims of today and tomorrow.

Pastoral Perspectives From the Oct. 3, 2001 edition of The Chronicle

What’s uppermost in your time, attention and heart today?

By Rev. Sherry Foote Rossville United Methodist Church What most absorbs your time your attention, and your-heart today? More than ever before, those are appropriate questions for all of us to be asking ourselves these days.

As I was entering last Sunday’s sermon in my home computer, there was a television call-in program being promoted by the asking of this question: “How has your life changed since September llth?” All of us continue to gauge how our lives have been affected, even as we have difficulty just “taking in” all the things hap-

pening over these past three weeks, much less trying to make sense of it.

Television, radio, newspapers and the internet bring us countless stories each and every day, many which help us to properly focus our perspective.

Consider these: The start of the NFL season was delayed. No one, not the players and not even my football-crazy husband, complained.

New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was previously vilified by many. Now he is greatly respected by almost everyone.

Even liberal Democrats who worked long after the election to get

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Al Gore elected have declared that President George W. Bush is the right man in the right place at the right time. California Congressman Gary Condits’ suspicious behavior was uppermost in the news for weeks prior to September 11. Suddenly, there’s not a word about him, and, furthermore, nobody cares.

The greatly-anticipated movie “Collateral Damage,” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, was due out this coming Friday. Ironically, it is about terrorists, so it has been put “on hold” indefinitely.

Likewise interesting was the news that Target Stores pulled from the shelves on September

12 some of their most lucrative money makers — violent video games.

The entertainment industry, national media, politicians and corporations suddenly have a new perspective on things. All of a sudden. they care about how their products, their images, and even their ideas affect people. That fact is, indeed, news.

For many years, “the church” and countless religious organizations have been trying to get these industries to be more sensitive and caring about the message they are sending to children and families. However, little progress has been made.

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of actual, real terror to wake them up. Perhaps the rest of us, ordinary individuals, should take a clue from the dramatic ‘responsive behaviors of these giants and ask ourselves about our own personal behavior.

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September, 2021

23

Nightmare revisited: Terrorist attacks bring back memories of 1963

This article was originally published in the Sept. 16, 2001 edition of the NewsGazette, a publication of Community Media Group

By Brett Dawson

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Just like you, Jim Grabowski sat in stunned silence Tuesday, his jaw dropping and his stomach twisting much the way yours were.

Just like you, he listened this week, in the wake of terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, to debate about whether sports should have been played this weekend.

Just like you, he saw a college football Saturday come and go this weekend with hardly a game taking place.

Just like you.

Only Grabowski was here before.

“It feels very different this week,” said Grabowski, who played on the last Illinois team to see its season put on hold by a national tragedy. “But it does feel similar in some ways.”

It was 1963 when Grabowski and his teammates saw college football come to a halt, when the most important game of their football lives was rendered meaningless after an assassin´s bullet killed President Kennedy.

To this day, he remembers the numbness of stepping off a bus in East Lansing, Mich., and being told the president had been assassinated.

Tuesday, he was numbed again, this time by news footage of airplanes striking the World Trade Center towers in New York, and by news of two other hijacked planes, one crashing into the Pentagon, the other going down in western Pennsylvania.

In the wake of that, sport became meaningless. Grabowski could relate.

He had been here before.

A changed world

On Nov. 22, 1963, the Illini landed in East Lansing, Mich., unaware the world around them had changed completely during their short flight.

There were no TVs or radios on the plane, nor on the bus the team boarded at the airport. And there was no hotel stop on the UI´s itinerary.

From the airport, it was straight to

Spartan Stadium for a light afternoon practice.

“I remember sitting on the bus on the way to the stadium noticing that the flags were at half-mast,” said George Donnelly, a defensive back on the ´63 team. “I remember asking the guy sitting next to me, ‘’I wonder why they´re doing that?´ “

He found out when the bus reached the stadium.

Donnelly can´t remember any change in emotions so swift or so dramatic.

The Illini weren´t coming to Michigan State for just another regular season game. The contest would decide the Big Ten champion, the winner punching a ticket to the Rose Bowl.

“The combined emotions conflicted there probably even more so than they did for the average individual,” said Mike Taliaferro, the UI quarterback in 1963. “What you´ve wanted to do all your life and is now right in front of you is suddenly overshadowed by the assassination of the president. So how do you get rid of those emotions?

It was very confusing emotionally.”

Nonetheless, the team prepared to play Saturday. And for a time, it appeared it would.

Games go on

Only one of Bob Hammel´s 42 years in the newspaper business was spent outside the sports department.

That year was 1963, and Hammel was working in the news department at the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.

He remembers Nov. 22, 1963, vividly, remembers scrapping his morning edition and scrambling to finish an afternoon paper with details on the Kennedy assassination.

An ardent Kennedy supporter, Hammel remembers the adrenaline of that task got him through the hours after the shots were fired in Dallas.

And he remembers when his work finally was done, he went to a high school basketball game that night.

“I just kind of woodenly went through the motions of what I was going to do all along,” Hammel said.

“The only thing I really remember from that is how poignant playing the national anthem was. And then it was right back into the game, and there was

a certain catharsis to that.”

Hammel, a Big Ten historian, didn´t stop to think about whether college football games would be played that Saturday in ´63. It seemed apparent they would.

Iowa was set to play Notre Dame.

Traditional rivalries Indiana-Purdue and Michigan-Ohio State were set to renew. And, of course, in East Lansing the most important Big Ten game of the year was set to kick off little more than 24 hours after the assassination of the most powerful man in the world.

“Sports seemed completely separate in those days,” Hammel said. “We didn´t even consider the possibility at first that the games would be canceled.”

To play or not to play?

At first, neither did the Illini.

Donnelly says now he never thought the game should be played that Saturday, but he and his teammates went through their rituals Saturday morning as if it would.

Several players already had ankles and wrists taped by the time the Illini were told the game would be postponed.

“I think, to a man, we were all happy that it didn´t go off,” Grabowski said. “I don´t think any of us felt like playing. Even at 18, 19 years old, I think we understood, with the tragedy of the assassination, how unimportant the football game was.”

Unlike this week´s terrorist attacks, which happened four days before college football was set to play, there was little time to make such a decision.

And that limited time didn´t allow for the same sort of united front presented by the NCAA on Saturday.

“It was Friday when it happened, so we were right into the weekend,” Hammel said. “There was no precedent and no overriding policy that covered everything. It was just a series of individual decisions.”

That´s why some games were postponed and others were played.

Michigan-Ohio State and IndianaPurdue were pushed back a week. Iowa and Notre Dame canceled altogether.

Other teams, though, elected to play. The entire NFL schedule moved

forward, and several college teams played.

“I don´t think it was necessarily easy for anybody to move forward with that,” said Nebraska football coach Frank Solich, who suited up for the Cornhuskers a day after the assassination for a game against Oklahoma.

“When you have things happen like happened recently to this country or like Kennedy, there is concern and there are different ways to possibly go on it. The decision was to go. We went forward, and I guess that´s it.”

Illinois and Michigan State elected to move forward less than a week later. The game was moved to Thanksgiving Day in East Lansing.

Duffy Daugherty, then the coach at Michigan State, contended for years after the game that the Spartans would have won had it been played as scheduled on Saturday.

If so, much changed in less than a week.

The Illini dominated from the opening kick, beating Michigan State 13-0 to claim a berth in the Rose Bowl, where they beat Washington 17-7. And by the time it was set to play Michigan State, Illinois was ready to go.

“I think by that time we had started to move on somewhat,” Taliaferro said. “The intensity of (the game), from an athlete´s perspective, I don´t think was diminished in any manner. Just the very nature of football, though, is that you´re going to get your block knocked off if you´re thinking of anything other than what you´re supposed to be at the time.”

Grabowski said it might have been hard to find the necessary focus one day after the Kennedy assassination.

“It just wasn´t the right time,” he said.

And the same might have been true of this weekend.

Moving forward

In the sense that the Kennedy assassination and Tuesday´s attacks rocked the nation to its core, in the sense that both rendered sports insignificant, the two are similar.

But there are differences.

“I would say that they are qualitatively different,” Don-nelly said. “In

´63, it was an internal kind of thing. As horrible as it was, it was basically contained within the country. You didn´t know what was going to happen, but clearly back in ´63 you didn´t think that the country could be at war. This may be an even more uncertain time.”

And just as it had in 1963, the combination of sorrow and uncertainty form a powerful argument against playing football. But there were arguments to the contrary as well.

“My thought is not to let the terrorists diminish the American lifestyle in any way, and what better symbol of that than athletics,” Taliaferro said.

“But I can understand people who might not want to play. They may have had friends and relatives in those buildings or on those planes.”

Even those who didn´t will find it hard to keep Tuesday´s images out of their memories.

For a younger generation, Tuesday will carry the same kind of horrific residence that Nov. 22, 1963, did for its parents.

Luke Butkus, Illinois´ starting center, is the nephew of Dick Butkus, the star linebacker on the ´63 squad.

Now their careers have another common thread, one neither would ever have imagined.

“That´s something you probably don´t want to bring up,” Luke Butkus said. “I´m not going to ever want to bring this up. I know that it happened.

It´s a tragedy. You don´t want to talk about it.”

Soon enough, though, we´ll all be talking about it. Already we´ve done it in our homes and schools. And someday soon, we´ll do it at filled football stadiums, sharing our grief while the game tries to take some of the pain away.

Jim Grabowski knows it will happen. He´s been here before.

“I don´t know what the right amount of grieving is. Is it a day, is it two days, a week, a month?” Grabowski said. “Are you going to call off a whole season? No, you´re not. Eventually, like we did in ´63, you have to start to move on. I don´t know when to do it, but eventually you´ve got to move on to show the people who did this that life will go on over here.”

in your personal time allocation, or do you need to adjust toward that ultimate goal? How about your attention?

Do you get so absorbed in television, newspapers, Internet, etc. that you can’t be bothered by people who want to have conversation with you? When the children need help with their

homework or just want to talk about something on their minds, are you “too busy” with other, less important things? Most of all, how about your heart? Are the “things” that you truly care about in your life deserving of the feelings you devote to them instead of to your family, your friends, your

neighbors? Does your church get a due share of your time, your attention, your heart? Does God fully approve of the way you are living your life? The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans: “Each of us will have to give a personal account to God. So, don’t

condemn each other anymore. Decide. instead to live in such a way that you will not put an obstacle in another Christian’s path.” (Romans 14:12-13) May you and I so live.

Uppermost Continued from page 21

be something like this: Get your priorities in order! It’s especially appropriate for us to look at the time we spend on various things in our daily lives and assess if that use of our most precious investment time is appropriate.

Does your family get top priority

AAMoment Moment of ofSilence Silence

Remember 9.11 As we mark the solemn anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, we remember all of the people whose lives were lost and forever affected by the tragic events of that day.

Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends, their memories live on with their loved ones and their fellow Americans.

On this solemn anniversary, On this solemn anniversary, we we honor thethe victims, thethe survivors andand honor victims, survivors thethe firstfirst responders of September 11, 11, 2021. responders of September 2021.

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