Lest we forget

Hundreds of Valley residents took time out on a sunny Saturday to complete a somber task — marking the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Nearly 3,000 innocents lost their lives that day when highjacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. Among the dead, 411 emergency responders.

As images of that day played out on a large screen at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, some of the more than 500 in attendance wept and some prayed, while others sat stoically to reflect on that latest of days that live in infamy.

In the days leading up to the remembrance service, a non-partisan event sponsored by the Conservative Patriots Group, some asked why we go out of our way to remember such a horrible day.

The answer is simple — we remember days like Sept. 11, 2001 in hopes they may never be repeated, that America will remain vigilant against terrorist threats to our nation. We also remember Sept. 11, 2001 as a defining moment for a generation of Americans. That moment for our grandparents was Dec. 7, 1941. For our parents, prior to 9-11, it was Nov. 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas, when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed.

These are dates that should never be relegated only to the memories of aging generations because they’re too painful or too far distant for younger Americans to understand. It’s why we hold such reverence — and rightly so — for observances like Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

This is what packed the sports center on Saturday and prompted the small Palmer neighborhood of Mountain Rose Estates to observe the anniversary.

Each Sept. 11, Memorial Day and Veterans Day, the subdivision residents cooperate to erect 540 small American flags. It’s an act of patriotism and reverence that continues to spark the passion that has made America the strong leader and worldwide example of freedom.

Terrible events like Sept. 11, 2001 have been described as America’s darkest hours. What’s also true is that, in the aftermath, they have also been our finest hours. Each time, America rises up and shows that its strength is not in its military dominance or political system. It’s in our citizens, the average people who make up the United States of America. It’s not an accident that the Preamble to the U .S. Constitution begins “We the people …”

When we hear comments about 9-11 observances that we should “let it go,” or that reliving the past doesn’t do anybody any good, it strengthens our resolve to make sure these defining moments of multiple generations are never forgotten, as we hope they will never be repeated.

The only thing that would be more tragic than the horrors inflicted upon America on days like Sept. 11, 2001 would be to forget them.