Reflecting on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11

by Frank Williams

Like most of you, I remember exactly where I was when I heard that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York 25 years ago.

I was still living in Raleigh post-college and was walking into a coffee shop where I would often network with area businesspeople. One of them, Bobby Lewis, was walking out, and told me a plane had hit one of the towers.

We stood silently for a moment, and I said I didn’t think this was an accident. He agreed, and I turned around, returned to my car, and drove home. By the time I got home, the second tower and the Pentagon had been hit.

Like many of you, I was glued to the TV for the rest of the day. I watched in horror as one tower fell, then the other.

I felt a wide range of intense emotions that day. Fear. Anger. Sadness. Despair. Rage. Dread. Love for my nation. Sympathy for those who perished and their families. Resolve.

Several weeks after the attacks, I had the opportunity to spend several days in New York City with an organization called Priority Associates, an affiliate of Campus Crusade for Christ.  Our primary mission was to distribute a magazine entitled Fallen, but not Forgotten and to reach out to the residents of New York whose lives were blindsided by the attacks. You can read my recap of that trip here.

In the weeks following the attacks, our nation was remarkably united. The words “Never Forget” became a national rallying cry that was emblazoned on our hearts and minds.

Twenty-five years later, I fear that too many have forgotten. Forgotten that there are those in the world whose purpose in life is to destroy our way of life. Forgotten that, while not perfect, the United States has been and, in my view, continues to be the greatest nation to ever exist on this earth. Forgotten that freedom is never more than one generation from extinction.

Additionally, I work with two people who are too young to have a clear memory of the national impact and significance of 9/11. They were five and almost three when the attacks took place. It is our duty as citizens to tell the story of 9/11 to those who are too young to remember it.

I remember. I will never forget. May our nation never forget.