9/11 to today: Ways we have changed

Editor’s Note: Mon Valley Independent Managing Editor Stacy Wolford was a reporter for The Valley Independent when she covered the Flight 93 crash from Shanksville on Sept. 11, 2001. She has returned more than a dozen times over the past 24 years.

In this file photo, a visitor to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville pays his respects at the Wall of Names. The Wall of Names honors the 40 people killed in the crash of Flight 93. AP

Twenty- four years ago today, I was among the first journalists to arrive at the scene of the United Flight 93 crash in Shanksville. I remember so vividly standing in a cornfield on a beautiful, crisp sunny day waiting anxiously to learn about the tragic fate of crew and passengers.

Time hasn’t erased the memories of what I saw that day and the heartbreak I felt for the families of loved ones who sacrificed their lives – and are credited for saving thousands of others – rushing the hijackers in the cockpit.

Standing in that cornfield with no cell phone, just a reporter’s notebook and a pen, I remember watching and waiting for hours for the FBI to give us an update.

After several hours watching the flurry of federal agents and dozens of other officials driving back and forth down the dirt road leading to the crash site, media representatives were finally permitted to see for themselves what was left of Flight 93. I saw clouds of billowing smoke and debris scattered over an area nearly five miles long. And then there was the crater, covered with hunks of metal that shone brilliantly in the sunlight where the plane took a nosedive to earth.

As I think back to being there that day, the images still haunt me. I am also reminded how quickly those years since then have passed by. When you’re younger, 24 years seems a million light years away. But, the older I get, I realize how quickly the days turn into months, then years and decades.

I can’t help but also be reminded of just how much not only my life has changed, but how we, as a society and country, have as well.

Back then, technology was rapidly advancing with the introduction of the first iPod and the rise of the internet. Communication was primarily done through landline phones, emails, and instant messaging.

When my beloved late editor and mentor Joe Abramowitz sent me to the scene of the Flight 93 crash, I did not have a cell phone, and there was no GPS back then. Anxious and admittedly a bit scared, I got in my car and just headed to Somerset County, relying on an old paper map and my instincts.

But, what we did have back then were telephone booths. I found one in a little roadside town off of Route 30 on the way to the crash site to call Joe and ask for any updates on the location. We memorized telephone numbers back then or picked up the handy, thick yellow phone book.

Can you imagine today’s younger generations using an actual map? Or a phone book? I wonder if they even make them anymore.

I raised my sons during the 90s, at a time when going to Hollywood Video to rent a movie was still a thing. Facebook was still several years away. To communicate online, we all used the family PC, with dial-up access. They had to make sure no one in the house was on the phone to chat with their friends. Meeting friends at the mall was still fun, and they were dependent on parent drop-offs and pickups — and, without cell phones, we counted on everyone paying attention to the time on an actual clock.

The first mass school shooting wouldn’t happen until Columbine in 1999. Today’s kids sadly go through routine mass shooter drills, and the days of dropping in at the school without having to be buzzed in or go through a metal detector to drop off a forgotten lunch will likely never return.

What have we as a people since those days and after 9/11 learned since then?

Maybe we’re less trustworthy and maybe we fear the outside world more.

On 9/11, millions of Americans became united as one — regardless of their beliefs — unified by the common home we all share.

On Sept. 12, all of the hurt, anger and sorrow we felt brought us together as Americans. The morning following 9/11 this whole country woke up feeling as together as I can ever remember, and that is what we so desperately need now.

Now, 24 years later, those feelings of unity are gone. Whether it’s via social media, in the streets of a big city or in our backyards, there is fighting in this country like I’ve never witnessed. People are quick to name call and shame someone else for their political, religious or personal beliefs. False information floods every platform of our lives. Venomous hatred is spread and exhibited just about everywhere now. I can’t believe that some Americans even perceive our flag as a symbol of hatred.

Rekindling that unity and patriotism is unlikely to happen again in this harsh political climate.

9/11 inspired a new generation of service in our nation. Think about all those who decided, just days after 9/11, to join the military, volunteer with their local fire department, donate their money to support victims’ families, give their time to support a nonprofit.

One way we can continue to honor those who lost their lives is by showing our appreciation and respect for those who have taken a vow to serve us today. These men and women, including our first responders and members of our nation’s military, continue to put their lives on the line for us. So that we may live safe and free.

“Never forget” is the motto for the tragedies of Sept. 11, 2001. For those of us old enough to remember, watching the horrific images as the Twin Towers fell is something we will never forget. But for many of our younger generations, unless they have been educated about the attacks on our country and wars overseas, the heroes who emerged that day and in the days that followed, they will never understand the pure evilness of 9/11.

To be a proud American is to never forget. I am proud to be an American, and no, I will never forget.