On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes in coordinated attacks on the United States, killing nearly 3,000 people and striking the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. Despite the tragedy, the attacks united the nation, bringing out ordinary Americans who showed extraordinary courage and compassion.
Principal Travis Willard, who was 20 at the time, said his morning started off normal. He was a college student living in Kansas and getting ready for school.
“I didn’t know anything had happened until I got into the lobby of the dorm, and everybody was gathered around the TV,” Willard said. “So the first plane had hit the first tower and the second plane hadn’t hit yet. We’re all gathered around watching it, probably should be going to class, but we’re all glued to the TV watching it happen.”
Although not everyone was affected personally, history teacher Jan Weston was. Her son, inspired by the bravery of the men and women, joined the military due to this event.
“That was all we heard, ‘I want to join the military, I want to join the military,'” Weston said. “He graduated in 2002 with a baseball scholarship, and he still wanted to join the military. After he went to college for a year he still said, ‘I want to join the military.’ He did go into the military in combat infantry, and he had multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Security measures, foreign policy, and even daily life in the United States were altered by that melancholy day. Even over 20 years later, 9/11 still affects people today. History teacher Cassi Zenor said that air travel has changed.
“Air travel is different,” Zenor said. “Your loved ones used to be able to walk you to the airplane doors, and you didn’t have to go through security.”
Nearly a quarter century later, the memory of Sept. 11 continues to shape the nation. Memorials stand in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania as reminders of the lives lost and the resilience shown.
“I think it’s important to honor and remember what happened on that day,” Willard said. “I don’t like or necessarily love that there’s this forever monument that the people who attacked our country can look at and say it serves as a reminder of what they did to us, but I think it’s important to remember.”
