Valley shows support following Tuesday tragedy

MAT-SU -- Five thousand miles away from Alaska, the most horrific act in American history took place Tuesday morning. Alaskans are Americans, and they responded as if the attack was on their personal families.

New York City is half a world away from Alaska, but it didn't stop Valley residents from showing their support and care for victims of the terrorist attack at New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in rural Pennsylvania, the site of four commercial jet crashes that apparently has claimed the lives of thousands of Americans.

American flags popped up around the Valley, and businesses used signboards to convey their support for everybody involved. Private residences were adorned with ribbons and flags as well.

"I was in the grocery store today, and I heard someone say that it doesn't affect their lives up here, so why make a big deal about it," Quince Martin said. "I wanted to ring his neck. Something like this affects every American."

Martin was in his yard, hanging a large American flag from the awning of his Wasilla-area home.

"I have family in New York. They don't live in the city, but still, it hit them pretty hard," Martin said. "I'm putting this up [the flag] as a way to show that I care about what is going on, and that my thoughts and prayers are with everybody who was involved."

There are a number of ways people showed their concern Tuesday in the hours following the aftermath of the airliner crashes into the World Trade Centers. An immediate plea went out for blood donations, and like people in the rest of the country, Valley residents responded in numbers.

"We had 80 people walk through the doors Tuesday, and we couldn't collect from everybody we were that busy," said Marianne Schlegelmilch, a registered nurse and manager of the Mat-Su center of the Blood Bank of Alaska. "There was a big response."