By SCOTT AUST / Greater Garden City
Local first responders; Garden City Community College administration, staff and students; and community members gathered Friday morning on the GCCC campus to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on our country which resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.
“Many lives were lost that day in the world as we knew it changed,” Brandy Unruh, GCCC Criminal Justice Instructor and campus police officer. “Today, we gather to remember and honor the first responders who ran toward the danger, the unknown, and risked their lives to save others. We thank them for their continued bravery every day as they run towards danger while others run away, and we reaffirm our promise that we will never forget.”
The ceremony included a flag presentation by the Garden City Fire Department and Garden City Police Department Honor Guard, featuring a flag flown during Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan. A timeline of events was also presented with a ringing of a bell for each moment.
- 8:46 a.m.: American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
- 9:03 a.m.: United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
- 9:37 a.m.: Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.
- 9:59 a.m.: The South Tower collapsed.
- 10:07 a.m.: Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, following passenger intervention.
- 10:28 a.m.: The North Tower collapsed.
Kansas Highway Patrol Capt. Randall Mosher, noting that many GCCC students were very young or not even born yet, said he wanted to try and explain what that day meant, not just what happened.
In addition to the loss of life – mothers and fathers who didn’t come home, parents who lost their children, and the hundreds of first responders who fell – something happened in the aftermath of those events that is just as important for current and future generations to remember.
“America came together,” Mosher said. “People who didn’t know each other stopped and helped each other. American flags appeared everywhere. Communities came together. Political differences seemed less important. For a while, we weren’t divided by politics, race, religion, or geography. We were Americans,”
Mosher said a great local example of that coming together is a local blood drive his wife was conducting that day. He said the blood drive was booked but not busy. Then word of the attacks spread and with hours those several donations turned into hundreds of donations.
“People came together because they wanted to help. They didn’t know all the people who might eventually receive that blood, and they didn’t need to. They simply saw a need, and they answered it. That’s what I remember about America after September 11,” he said.
Mosher said September 11 created a bond among law enforcement, fire and EMS that is difficult to put into words. Those groups have always worked together, he said, but that day reminded them that when the worst happens, we’re all one team. Those first responders at the World Trade Center who ran toward danger weren’t thinking about whose job was more important, what color their uniform was or what department they worked for. They were thinking about saving lives and helping one another.
“That’s all that mattered that day,” Mosher said. “But here’s what I want you to take away from September 11: the greatest strength of this country isn’t in our technology, it isn’t in our buildings, it’s our people.”
Mosher told students they are the generation that will carry this country forward. He said you will have disagreements just like every other generation and that’s okay.
“Being Americans doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything, but I hope you remember September 11th and that there are bigger things than the differences,” he said. “When our neighbors are in trouble, we help them. When our communities are hurting, we stand together. And when a call comes, firefighters, law enforcement officers, paramedics, and even ordinary citizens don’t ask what is in it for me. They ask where am I needed. Twenty-five years from now, I hope you remember more than the date September 11th. I hope you remember this lesson. We are stronger when we stand together, we are better when we serve one another, and when we put aside what divides us, and remember what unites us, we are Americans.”
Dr. Lance Hawvermale, GCCC Vice President of Instruction, echoed Mosher’s words. He acknowledged it can be difficult for younger generations to fully understand the experience. Hawvermale said those who experienced the events of 9/11 firsthand can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when it happened. It’s burned into our minds.
Hawvermale said one word occurred to him in trying to think of a way to convey to younger generations the relevance of the experience.
“In the days and weeks that followed 9/11, for the first time in my life, I saw the people of this country come together. It didn’t matter what your politics were. It didn’t matter what your religion was. What mattered is that you lived here. That this was your home, and for the first time we came together and spoke from one voice,” he said. “And the word that describes that sensation, that rare experience, the word is ‘solidarity.’”
Hawvermale urged attendees to reflect on how they can practice solidarity in their own lives.
