Today we remember all those lives so tragically lost on September 11, 2001, in a terrorist attack on our country. Twenty-one years have gone by since that day when families’ lives were forever changed. Holidays, birthdays, and family gatherings always have a loved one missing—only memories, photos, and love remain.
It started out as a beautiful September morning with blue sky, sunshine, and late summer flowers blooming. People were going about their daily lives doing ordinary things. Then, the tragedy struck—planes crashed into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It seemed almost unbelievable until we saw the pictures on television—people in shock running, buildings collapsing, billowing black smoke, and debris and white dust everywhere.
Into this, first responders rushed without thought for their own personal safety. Many would lose their lives trying to save others. Even today people are still dying from the effects of breathing in all the toxins released.
It is for all the lives lost for whom we mourn. We know that those gone will always be part of our hearts’ memories. We ask God to comfort their loved ones. And may all who died rest in eternal peace. We will always remember…
—Bernadette R. Gentry