25 years later, United States still learning from 9-11-2001 tragedy

Twenty-five years later, many people in Canyon, Amarillo and across the United States are still being impacted with the tragic events that took place on September 11, 2001 in New York. Canyon ISD and West Texas A&M University educators, as well as a Canyon businesswoman, shared their reflections of 9-11-2001 and more importantly, how blessed they are to be an American. ... On September 11, 2001, 2,977 people were killed in the deadliest terrorist attacks in American history, according to a post on www.millercenter.org. The moment shocked the nation as two planes, hijacked by Islamic jihadists vowing death to all Americans, plowed into both towers at the World Trade Center in New York. Another plane was flown into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth plane, presumably headed for the White House or the U.S. Capitol, was diverted by passengers and ended up crashing in an empty field in Pennsylvania. Following reports of the first plane hitting the North Tower, millions watched the second plane hit the South Tower on live television, according to Katherine Huiskes, a member of the University of Virginia Class of 2021, where she studied foreign affairs and history. Canyon High School principal Jennifer Boren has various reflections from that traumatic day of events. "I was in Wentzville, Missouri. I had just dropped my oldest two children (twins) at Kindergarten and my younger two at their first day of Mother's Day Out. I was driving home to get a few household chores done when I heard the news," Boren said. "I went back to get my youngest two, but the director said it was safe to leave them. I went home and watched what was happening and was shocked. A few minutes in I got a call from a good friend from church who was a single mom. She worked at Boeing and had been moved to the basement of her building to start arming nuclear weapons. She was told she would be their indefinitely and asked if I could pick up her children from school and keep them until she could leave work. "Another friend from church called and let me know she was stranded in Houston. She was a flight attendant and they grounded the planes. She wanted me to check on her parents who would be keeping her boys until she and her husband (an airline pilot) could get home." Stacia Hauser, Assistant Vice President/Loan Officer with Amarillo National Bank in Canyon, was an 18-year-old college student in Bryan, Texas. "I was in my apartment in Bryan getting ready for class. It was my first semester of college. I routinely watched Good Morning America in the morning ... this is where I first heard the news of the events that day," Hauser said. "I was in disbelief as it looked like something out of a movie was happening. I changed the channel in hopes that it was not true, but it was on every major network. ... It was hard to process that this was happening in a country I had always felt so safe in. "I have always had a great amount of respect and appreciation for our military, but it grew after 9/11." Osama Bin Laden was pretty unknown in the United States before 9-11-2001, even as he was amassing popularity, followers and fame in the Middle East during the 1990s. In 1988, Bin Laden was one of the founders of al Qaeda, a militant Islamic terrorist organization that organized and carried out the 9-11 attacks. For Lucas Kinsey, a counselor with West Plains High School and the 'Voice of the WT Buffaloes', was a junior in media class at West Texas A&M University when he heard the news of the attack. "We watched the events unfold together as a class with our professor, Dr. Leigh Browning. It was one of the more emotional times that I can recall as a young 20 year old," Kinsey said. "There were even some students who were very upset and worried because they had relatives who lived in New York City or on the East Coast. Our media class talked about how you cover something as big and emotional as this story from the journalistic perspective. "I remember thinking how hard it had to be for the news anchors that were live on television or on the scene, reporting awful news. It took a lot of resolve and professionalism for these people to stay focused and not break down or become angry while doing their job." Throughout that day, Kinsey remembered how galvanized our country became. "People were not worried about politics or religion or ethnicity or economic status," Kinsey said. "They were all simply proud Americans who were very upset about what was done to our fellow brothers and sisters. I knew young people in college who decided to join the military or work for the government because they wanted to try and make a difference for our great country." In the eyes of Jan Weston, an AP Human Geography/Dual Credit US History teacher at Randall High School, September 11, 2001 touched her life in many different ways. "On September 11, 2001, I was in my classroom at Randall High School when someone came to my door and said a plane had just flown into one of the twin towers in New York City. At first, we thought some plane was just wildly off course. But then we heard a second plane flew into the other tower. At that point, we knew something was drastically wrong," Weston said. "In those days, we had televisions mounted on the walls of our classrooms, so we turned ours on. To our horror, we saw the towers fall. It soon became very obvious that we were under a terrorist attack." Weston recalls her father being a crew member on a B-24 Liberator during World War II and flying 35 missions. Her husband, Ben, was commissioned out of Texas A&M and served as an armor officer in the military. "It was no surprise to me that my son (Ben III) wanted to immediately enlist in the Army upon graduation from Canyon High School," Weston said. "He was a senior in high school when 9-11 happened. He had been offered a baseball scholarship, and quite frankly, I begged him to take the scholarship and at least try college and college baseball. He did, but after one year in college, he said he was enlisting in the Army and combat infantry. He was insistent on serving his country in the Army as the Iraq War was underway. My son, Ben Weston III, served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during his 10 plus years in combat." Randi Willard, an Associate Principal at West Plains High School, was a junior at Andrews High School and sitting in her first period math class when she heard the devastating news of the events of 9-11-2001. "As small town kids from Andrews (Texas), we did not understand the significance of the even. When we got to second period, our teacher had turned on her television and we watched the news/events unfold. Our principal came over the announcements and let everyone know about the attack, and assured us that we were all safe," Willard said. "In 2001, we had cell phones but they stayed in our vehicles. When I got to my car at lunch, my mom immediately called me. She asked me if I had gas in my car, and told me to go straight to a gas pump and fill my car up with gas. I remember thinking that was really strange, but after living through other world disasters and COVID, I understand now her concern for running out of everyday commodities. "Throughout the new few months, I remember the extreme pride that all Americans felt. From hearing Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue by Toby Keith, to watching Alan Jackson perform Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning on an awards show, there was always something to make you feel so proud to be American. "To this day, I still get chills when I hear those two songs because it brings back the feelings of fear, but also the extreme awareness of feeling connected to all those around you." This week, West Plains High School will commemorate the events of 9-11 during their Homecoming pep rally. The Wolfpack Regiment will play the National Anthem, faculty members will read a short passage about that day, students and staff will observe a moment of silence, and one of the band students will play TAPS as the school asks all military and first responders to stand and be recognized. Dave Rausch, Ph.D., Teel Bivins Professor of Political Science and Faculty Athletics Representative at West Texas A&M University, recalls walking across the WT campus from Old Main to the Jack B. Kelly Student Center for any number of reasons. "My father called and asked me if I had seen anything about people flying planes into the World Trade Center. I had not, so I asked him what sort of engine trouble caused the pilots to fly into such a prominent building in New York City," Dr. Rausch said. "I was envisioning a small plane (think Cessna) having engine or steering problems. I never considered that someone would fly a commercial airliner into the World Trade Center on purpose. "My wife's father was working for a defense contractor at that time. He was largely unreachable. The last anyone knew was that he was on his way to the Pentagon via the Metro. I remember that he had just arrived at the Metro station in the Pentagon or he was just about to get to the Pentagon. I think the Metro station is on an opposite side of the Pentagon, but still we were all pretty concerned about him being that close to the Pentagon. "There were a lot of questions about whether similar incidents would strike cities like Dallas, Houston or Denver. I was asked about the possibility of someone flying a plane into Pantex. Like most on that day, I likely was too shocked to provide a coherent response, plus I didn't know much more than anyone else in the area." Dr. Rausch noted that The Department of Homeland Security was created out of the response to the events of September 11, 2001. "As a nation, we learned how to come together. I recall the Oklahoma City bombing and the unity that emerged out of that incident. I was working on Capitol Hill in 1993 when the first World Trade Center bombing occurred. I remember a lot of fear among congressional staffers that someone might try to bomb the Capitol. We did not recognize in those events that something even more horrific could occur. We may have become lackadaisical in our security posture by the turn of the century. September 11th brought us back to reality, and then some," Dr. Rausch said. From Willard's standpoint, "The impact 9-11 had on me and my family was just a reminder that you never know what the next day holds, and that living in America and seeing how our military fiercely defends our nation is something that few others get to experience." ... Weston added, "Like many other families, we know that our precious freedom comes with a price. The horrors and carnage of 9-11 changed the direction of many lives in our country forever. ... But once again, American answered the call. Freedom is not free. It's a price that must be paid if we are to maintain the freedoms we cherish so dearly."