Today, TRN Media joins our community and our nation in remembering September 11, 2001.
Twenty-five years have passed, but for those who remember that day, there are moments that still feel incredibly vivid. A few members of our staff were old enough to remember where they were, what they were doing and the fear and uncertainty we all felt as we watched the events unfold. Today, we’ll be sharing some of those personal memories and reflecting on a day that changed our country forever.
We also want to take this opportunity to recognize the first responders who ran toward danger that morning, many making the ultimate sacrifice to help people they had never met. Their courage, selflessness and service will never be forgotten.
And to the firefighters, law enforcement officers, EMTs, dispatchers and other first responders who continue to serve our communities every day, thank you. We are incredibly grateful for the work you do and the sacrifices you and your families make.
Today we remember the lives lost. We honor the heroes. We remember the families whose lives changed forever.
25 years later, we will never forget.
Keith Trujillo
“I was very young, so I don’t remember a whole lot of personal feelings about it outside of seeing how concerned my family was. I remember seeing the second tower hit while watching on a tiny TV with a VCR on the front, but obviously, as a first grader, I didn’t grasp what I was seeing and the impact it would have on the country.”
Camila Bozner
9-11 story.
“I was a senior in high school. And I remember I was walking down the hall and passed by a classroom where everyone was watching a TV. The look on everyone’s face was shock. The teacher was crying. I sat there watching, stunned myself thinking what a tragic accident. But then the second plane hit, and everyone in the room gasped and some started crying. I knew right then and there this would change America forever.”
Faith Harris
“I was at an early morning Green River Chamber of Commerce meeting when Al called and said someone had flown into the Twin Towers. It was thought at first it was just an accident, but then a second plane hit. The meeting was adjourned. We were all very frightened. Al and I then went home and watched it unfold on Television. It was really one of the worst days I have ever experienced. I remember it like it was yesterday. We were so stunned that anything like this could happen in the US.”
Adrienne Harris
“I was 20 years old and in my second year at Idaho State University when the tragedy of 9/11, struck our nation. I remember walking through the College of Arts building on my way to Spanish class. The lobby was packed with students standing shoulder to shoulder, all staring at a small television in the corner. I looked up and saw an airplane fly into one of the Twin Towers. ‘What happened?’ I asked the student beside me.’Planes flew into the Twin Towers,’ he said.
I was young and rarely paid attention to the news. I also had always struggled with anxiety surrounding world events, so I didn’t immediately grasp what I was seeing. I assumed it was a terrible accident and hurried to class, worried I was going to be late. It wasn’t until my Spanish professor began talking about what was happening that I understood the magnitude of it. She dismissed class early, and I spent the rest of the day glued to my TV with a friend, watching in horror as the events unfolded. Twenty-five years later, I can still picture that crowded lobby and the little television in the corner.”
Stephanie Peterson
“On September 11th, I was sitting in my senior government class. We watched everything unfold live on the school TVs where we normally watched Channel One News. My teacher, Mr. Johnson, was doing his best to explain what was happening, but I don’t think any of us could fully comprehend it. We were all stunned. Some kids in my class had already enlisted in the military, and I remember how terrified they looked as we started hearing talk about war and even the possibility of a draft. There was so much uncertainty and fear. We didn’t know what was going to happen next, and the weight of what we were watching was overwhelming.”
David Martin
“I was a senior at Rock Springs High School and was walking into my first-period mythology class when I saw the teacher reading news about the first jet hitting the World Trade Center. Once class started, I remember things being fairly normal until the end of the period. I had a physics class afterward, and once that class started, we went to the RSHS library and spent the class period watching live coverage on television. That was much of the morning that day, watching the news in class and teachers doing their best to contextualize what we were seeing.
As far as how my family was impacted, one of my aunts was attempting to fly back to Wyoming from West Virginia that morning and ended up being stranded after all of the flights were grounded. She never stepped foot onto another plane after that.”
Al Harris
“It was just before 8 am local time that I first heard about an incident on 9/11 in New York. Steve Core and I were in the KUGR studio when a short news flash from Associated Press said a small plane had hit the World Trade Center. The ‘small plane’ reference meant to us something like a single engine Cessna. We commented we were pretty sure who got the worst end of that collision.
It wasn’t long, as we followed the story on AP, that we learned the ‘small plane’ wasn’t that small and the building had been seriously damaged.
As the story unfolded with a second plane into the World Trade Center, a third plane into the Pentagon and a fourth plane inbound to Washington, D.C., I became concerned about what this meant. My mind went to Pearl Harbor as the only thing I could think of as a similar incident. Thinking I was not able to comprehend the significance of all this, I called my folks. They lived Pearl Harbor. I asked,’How serious is this?’ I remember them responding calmly and saying it would take some days to really see what it all meant.
Meanwhile, it was all hands on deck at the radio station for what became an unforgettable day!”
