‘Faced with something tragic, we unify’: Rockford reflects on 9/11 20 years later

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current

ROCKFORD — Shock, fear and horror defined the moment the twin towers of the World Trade Center were attacked by terrorists 20 years ago today.

It was a different feeling that emerged soon after that sticks with Kyle Hill.

“Right after that event happened we were so united,” said Hill, a captain in the Rockford Fire Department. “Everybody in America rallied around the citizens of New York and everybody that was affected.”

Hill, who joined Rockford Fire Department District Chief Will Pederson in 2007 to retrieve a steel beam from the World Trade center for a memorial here, hopes people will remember that feeling of unity as they reflect on the tragedy and loss of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

“I would hope this anniversary would bring people back together and unify us again,” he said. “With everything going on in our political world and everything going on overseas, I would hope that this anniversary would help unify us again.”

As people across the country reflect on the deadliest terrorist attack ever carried out on U.S. soil, many people here are also remembering the solidarity felt in the wake of the attack.

“When the United States is faced with something tragic, we unify,” said Rockford police Assistant Deputy Chief Joel Givens, an Air Force veteran.

That feeling, Givens said, was shared among people across the world because people from multiple countries died in the World Trade Center. People from 78 countries died in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania in the attacks.

Givens, who taught human rights education while in the Air Force, was serving in the military and Rockford’s police department at the time of the attack. His role at the time was education, making sure people from different backgrounds in the military remain united.

“I hope citizens continue to treat each other with dignity and respect,” Givens said. “This will be the time that we will continue to heal.”

Mayor Tom McNamara shared a similar sentiment.

“After 9/11 and before we entered that war, people were coming together of all different races and all different socioeconomic statuses,” McNamara said. “We have to remind ourselves what binds us together instead of always what we should be fearful about or what we should be against.”

McNamara’s thoughts, like many others, also turn to first responders here and across the country.

“Every single day our first responders put on a uniform they remind themselves of the oath that they’ve taken — that they put their lives ahead of the lives of other citizens,” McNamara said. “Every day they may not come home.”

Four planes were hijacked by 19 militants connected to al Qaeda on Sept. 11, 2001, carrying out the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil in the country’s history. In New York, 2,763 people died, including 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York police officers and 37 Port Authority officers. There were 189 people killed at the Pentagon and 44 who died on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.

“To me it seems like it was yesterday, it really does,” said Michele Panko, who was sworn in this week as the 11th chief in the history of the Rockford Fire Department. “I do remember it vividly and I won’t ever forget. … If you don’t have any recollection of it, I would encourage everyone to do a little of reading and just a little bit of research on that day.”

Rudy Valdez, one of three Rockford Board of Fire and Police commissioners, started re-reading old articles he saved from 20 years ago to reflect on the anniversary. He said it’s up to us who remember the attack to keep the legacy of those who responded that day alive.

“People don’t understand the sacrifices the first responders make,” Valdez said. “When everybody is trying to run out on something dangerous, the first responders are running in.”

Givens said residents and first responders alike were heroic after the attacks.

“The police officers and firefighters and first responders on the ground, they did something that is heroic. It takes a lot of courage to walk into something like that,” he said. “But it wasn’t just firefighters and police officers, it was the civilian standing next to the police officer that said ‘let’s go.’ There was heroes across the board.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter @KevinMHaas.