Remembering lessons from Sept. 11, 2001

WASILLA — For Jeanne Gardner, the stunning, horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001 sparked a spirit of togetherness in the United States she sadly thinks is beginning to fade.

On that fateful morning seven years ago, the world watched as foreign terrorists waged an attack against U.S. civilians on a unprecedented scale.

The attack has become one of those “I’ll never forget where I was” moments, as television images recorded both World Trade Center towers falling to the ground; the Pentagon — one side demolished and burning after being impacted by a jet — and another jet crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after its passengers decided to fight back.

It’s become a common phrase since that day that Sept. 11 is the day the world changed. Airport security became tighter, border crossings became more strict and the way wars are fought changed from one defined front to a guessing game of who the enemy is.

But if there was anything positive to come out of Sept. 11, 2001, it was the camaraderie Americans found in their neighbors, Gardner said.

On Thursday, just after a ceremony commemorating the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 at the Wasilla Seniors Campus, Gardner and her friend, Gene Chapados, ate lunch at a long table in the Floyd D. Smith Senior Center.

Both said they think Americans should remember, especially on the anniversary, to maintain that patriotism and togetherness, even without a national tragedy to prompt it.

“We’re at a point where we need to move on,” Gardner said. “We need to build on what we have learned.”

Young and old came face-to-face at the senior center Thursday when Alaska National Guard Lt. Col. Katrina Pillow looked out over a crowd of seniors — some veterans of past wars — and talked about the pride she has for serving her country.

Pillow, an Eagle River resident with a beaming smile, has been in the military since 1992 and told the seniors that Sept. 11, 2001 reminds all freedom is not free.

To protect the idea of freedom, Pillow said she’s fought for her country in an effort to maintain our way of life. The events of that day only solidified her commitment to protecting the United States she said.

“I am proud to be a veteran of Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom,” Pillow said.

The senior center wasn’t the only place in the Mat-Su Valley remembering Sept. 11, 2001. Outside the Cottonwood Public Safety Building, 411 American flags stand in the ground. Each flag represents a firefighter, police officer, New York Port Authority officer or medic killed in the Twin Towers collapse.