11 Years Later, Lansing Residents Remember 9/11
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11 years later, the memory of the worst terrorist attack in United States still lingers with Michigan residents. Video by fox47news.com
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It is hard to believe that it has been 11 years since a terrorist attack changed our nation forever, but ask anyone, and they can still say where they were that fateful morning.
For David Ungaar, listening to the bagpipes play "Amazing Grace" at a ceremony in Lansing, Tuesday morning, was especially difficult.
Originally from New York City, Ungaar moved to Lansing in 2007, but on September 11, 2001, he was supposed to be in Manhattan for work.
"I had given my employer a couple of weeks notice that I was leaving on September 15th to take care of my father in Florida," said Ungaar. "On the seventh of September, he gave me two weeks pay and told me to take the second week off, or I would've been five blocks away."
Instead, Ungaar got a call from his father at 11 a.m., telling him to turn on the television.
"Took me hours to wrap my head around it," said Ungaar. "I just couldn't fathom it."
As for those who were here in Michigan at the time, the shock is still there.
"I was at work," said Carissa Ward, of Holt. "The courage it took for people to save other people's lives, definitely, should never be forgotten."
The sound of drums filled the air as members of Lansing's police and fire departments marched into Wentworth Park, Tuesday morning.
They were there to pay tribute to their peers who lost their lives during the tragic events of September 11th, 2001. While the Grand Ledge High School choir sang the Star Spangled Banner, a large crowd began to pay their respects, as well.
The crowd surrounded the piece of the World Trade Center that sits in the park. Lansing firefighter Stephen Babcock says he was happy to see so many people.
"In our busy, day-to-day lives, it's easy to get caught up in that and...I don't want to say forget, but it's not in the forefront," said Babcock. "It's important, this day, that we put it in the forefront."
The ceremony not only honored fallen New York City police officers and firefighters, but also operating engineers, who had the dangerous job of clearing the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center.
"As the dust settled, we responded just as all the other responders did," said Lee Graham, a local operating engineer.
No matter how those that attended the ceremony paid tribute, the same feeling was shared by all...never forget.
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