(Le Mars) — Today, September 11th is the 20th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. For those of us that were around, we can all remember exactly where we were located, and what we were doing when we first learned of the jet airplane that struck the World Trade Center in New York. When a second jet crashed into the other tower, we quickly realized that the incident was not an accident, but rather a terrorist attack on the people of the United States. We were in shock and horror when we watched video of the first tower tumbling, and crashing to the ground. We continued to be in shock when the second tower fell to the ground. Hundreds of first responders, consisting of firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians, lost their lives while attempting to rescue those thousands of people trapped in the burning towers. Within minutes, another jet aircraft was seen targeting a prominent building. This time, it was the Pentagon at Washington D.C. People were wondering how many other jets were flying above American skies that would be used as a weapon of destruction on our own people? We learned of a fourth aircraft that was suspected of perhaps targeting either the White House or the U-S Capitol Building. Passengers aboard the fourth plane decided to try to fight back against those who had hijacked the aircraft. Unfortunately, the jet had crashed in a Pennsylvania field, killing all those on board. 9-11 is one of those days that will always remain a part of our memory. Much like the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Bobby Kennedy, and that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster, we all know what we were doing at the time these events occurred. It may seem hard to believe, but a part of our population were not around during the terrorists attacks. They were either too small to remember, or had not been born as of yet. For those of us that were around during these historical events we need to keep reminding our youth and future generations of the tragic events, the circumstances, and the emotions of such events, otherwise historical events like these will simply disappear and be erased from our minds and our history books.
