Editor’s note: I yield my space this week to this timely and inspiring message.
This year marks the 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on our country. Nineteen men hijacked four U.S. commercial airplanes bound for West Coast destinations and killed a total of 2,977 people in New Your City, Washington D.C. and Shanksville, Pa. Our country swore it would never forget.
What you may not know is that this year family members of those killed will not be allowed to read the names of their loved ones in person after having done so for nearly two decades. This year, the lower Manhattan 9/11 memorial display which usually features twin beams of light shone into the night sky to honor the victims of 9/11, will not happen. The museum will remain closed. A dark sky and a recording of a previous years reading of the names will have to suffice due to concerns raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon hearing this, one retired firefighter from New York who lost his brother in the attack stated, “It won’t be the same, but at least the names will be mentioned … this was an attack on America. People need to remember that. So many people have already forgotten the sacrifices exhibited that day.”
(Editor’s note: Plans are back on to beam twin columns of light into the Manhattan sky to represent the World Trade Center during the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced Aug. 14 that it is working on plans to shine the twin beams during its alternative 9/11 ceremony.)
I make no judgement here on the tough decisions good leaders are having to make these days. Our nation is under extreme duress and going through a very challenging time in its history. I will state however, that the divisiveness in our nation must end before any healing can occur, just as we did from our 9/11 experience. 9/11 defined us as Americans and united us in a way not seen since World War II.
Similarly, the challenges of our current condition should only serve to remind us about what is truly important. COVID-19 and other challenges to come and not yet envisioned will all continue to test us in the years ahead. Who we are as a nation and what we look like on the other side of any crisis we face, wholly depends on what we value, what we see as sacred, and the courage and calm each of us displays.
On this 19th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Teller County will not forget. We will not forget those who lost loved ones, the bravery of our first responders and the actions of our brave military in the days that followed as they went into combat to secure and reaffirm our freedom. Patriot Day and the act of remembering and standing together on 9/11 is a unifying activity that brings us closer. Standing together, remembering what we felt that today, and feeling part of a whole as a nation and community is even more important now than ever.
This time, the whole world came under attack from an unseen enemy and is still in the grips of a pandemic that has claimed 848,000 lives worldwide as of this writing. Yet, most of the world has been strengthened by the experience. Suffering the loss of friends, neighbors, and relatives has brought the people of other nations together in resolve. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have ripped our country apart and exposed cracks in so many areas of American life. The healing will only begin when we stop shouting at one another, begin listening again, and deliberately move into recovery just as we did after 9/11.
So this year, on Patriot Day, please take the time to remember another challenging time in our history. All is not lost we will recover. 9/11 was met with courage, unity, resolve and heroic actions —and not divisiveness and bitter disagreement. Our children are watching us and their futures have already been impacted. This year, use the example and the memory of 9/11 to show them that we have met and overcome challenging times in the past; and we will do so again.
Patriot Day is not a public or federal holiday. Businesses have normal opening hours, schools and government offices do not close, and public transit systems run on their regular schedules. For most people, only a few moments a year are spent in reflection about 9/11, if at all. Soon, in the not so distant future, without extraordinary effort on our part, the lessons of 9/11 and the impact it had on so many of our lives, and the courage we displayed, will all be forgotten. To forget is to be forced to relearn history’s lessons all over again and our children will pay the price.
Together we made it through the 9/11 experience and stood up again as a nation. It is my hope that by working together as Americans once again, that we will come through better and stronger than we were before and will truly once again be the United States.
Dan Williams is a U.S. Army Colonel (retired), Teller County Planning Official, Post 1980 American Legion Commander and the District 1 Teller County Commissioner-elect.
The Link LonkSeptember 08, 2020 at 01:00PM
https://gazette.com/thetribune/we-swore-we-would-never-forget-guest-column/article_a3418f98-ed32-11ea-ad1a-53f6cf60857a.html
We swore we would never forget | Guest Column - Colorado Springs Gazette
https://news.google.com/search?q=forget&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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