The 15th anniversary of September 11, 2001 has quickly approached. By the time this article is published it will be passed. It is hard to believe that so many years have gone by since then. And normally I have a pretty bad long-term memory, but for some reason the memory of September 11, 2001 stays with me. I remember bits and pieces of being called into the gymnasium at school for an announcement. Back then my age group was in elementary school, we were innocent, we didn’t know much of what was going on. I got the idea to write this article from a church pastor that I work for. She made the comment that "When September 11th first happened, churches were full of people and as the years went on, the people dwindled." I found this comment very fascinating. It is true, when something tragic first happens, people put in their respects as much as they can, but as time goes on people move on. Not that there is anything wrong with that, because moving on is a good thing, but I’m basing the point on this article of remembering those who are still mourning from this day; people who have lost loved ones, people who remember everything, and people who were in New York that day. It’s an important and tragic event in our history. As they repeat in YouTube videos and discovery channel episodes online that I have watched, “America was attacked for the first time.”
We also remember those who were not only affected by the destruction of the twin towers, but affected by the planes that were hijacked. We also remember that there wasn’t just the attack of the twin towers, but also the strike against the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania crash. There is so much to remember involving 9/11 that we might not always think about, or want to think about during this time of year.
So many other things followed this tragic event that have changed our country forever. The “War on Terrorism” in the Middle East followed. American soldiers have lost their lives fighting for us. And friends and family have been grieving for those lost lives. I had a high school classmate who went to war and he lost his life fighting for our countries’ sake. It was a devastating outcome for my hometown. This person was well-liked in our school years and will always be remembered. With everything that has happened it is important to pay tribute to those who are still mourning. And to our country that was forever affected by this day.
