Written September 14, 2002
September 11 was officially designated by President Bush as Patriot Day, but much of the general public was not aware of this designation. Despite this fact, the day was observed across America and around the world as a day to remember those who perished in the horrible terrorist attacks one year ago on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Memorial services were conducted at Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center, as well as at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed after being hijacked by terrorists. Included in the memorial services was the reading of the names of those who died in the attacks.
People expressed their patriotism and support for America on this day in a variety of ways. A few of those seen in our city are detailed on this page.
A crane was parked just clear of a busy intersection, raised to the sky and bearing two large American flags.
Painted on a train car was an American flag and the words, “The Day America Will Never Forget—September 11, 2001.”
In addition to those mentioned on our 9/11 Revisited page, I saw these:
This last phrase has been repeated thousands of times across our land. May we never forget!
My son, Joe, brought home a couple of acrostic poems he wrote in school. “You may want to post this on the website,” he told me. It’s a good example of how many people feel at this time—much of the old anger and hatred is returning as people painfully recall the details of that awful day.
You’ll probably notice that the first letter of each word spells Osama (as in bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terrorist network) and World Trade Center.