COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- On Sept. 11, 2001, four orchestrated terror attacks occurred against the U.S. using passenger planes.
This event impacted many Americans, young and old. Even though most of today’s Airmen were not in the Air Force or were children at the time, this event still influenced some of them to take the oath of enlistment and defend their country.
Moments after the attack
Tech. Sgt. Adrian Allred, 14th Flying Training Wing contracting officer representative, was 14 years old when the tragic event took place. He recalled sitting in his junior ROTC class after finishing a test when his assistant instructor told them to turn the TV on because one of the twin towers had been struck. At first, he didn’t know what was going on. He remembered that he and his classmates assumed it was an aircraft accident, but after the second tower was hit moments later, he knew it wasn’t just an accident.
“At that moment, there was a sense of confusion and sadness,” Allred said. “There were a lot of people in those buildings and there was a small chance of surviving.”
He said his brother was in the Navy at the time and he already had an aspiration to join the military, but that event solidified his decision.
That same day, Airman 1st Class Ian Bennett, 14th Security Forces desk sergeant, was sitting in his elementary class when he heard the news about the 9/11 attack. He was about 5 years old at the time and said he couldn’t comprehend what was going on at the time.
“I remember my dad picking me up from school and saying ‘we got to go,’” Bennett recalled. “My dad was in the military at the time and after 9/11, I saw him for 24 hours and then he was [deployed] the next day.”
How 9/11 impacted the U.S.
After the attack, the U.S. changed its safety measures. One of the biggest being the creation of the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that has authority over the security of the traveling public in the U.S.
“You see [the changes] everywhere you go in America,” Allred said. “You have a lot of things going on today that resonate from that day almost 17 years ago.”
Bennett pointed out how 9/11 impacted his job today as a security forces member. He said that it is not as easy to get on a military installation as it was before that dreadful day as the heightened security has made unauthorized access to bases nearly impossible.
Never Forget
Allred said he wants future generations to look back and remember 9/11 the same way we remember other significant parts of history.
“It is important to remember 9/11 because it gives [service members] a sense of purpose of why we are where we are,” Allred said. “It may be a cliché, but if you don’t remember the past, you’re bound to repeat it.”
Today, there are hundreds of 9/11 memorials around the country that allow Americans to remember that day and show their respect to those who were lost.
“If you forget what happened, then what did all those people die for,” Bennett said. “If we remind [the next generation] of what happened, they will appreciate what all those men and women did.”