OPINION:
Tonette called me at home and told me the news. She had gone into work early, and her co-workers heard the announcement about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center.
I was getting our sons, Matt and Alex, ready for school, and they were eating in the kitchen. I moved to the living room to turn on the television. It was shocking.
At the time, however, it seemed like a New York City story about a plane accident. Soon afterward, I dropped off the children at school and met my carpool to drive to the Wisconsin State Capitol, where I served as a state representative in 2001.
We turned on the radio to hear the latest news. Just as we came by the Delafield exit, we heard the morning show host say that the south tower of the World Trade Center had collapsed. I nearly drove off the road.
We all looked at one another, stunned that this was even a possibility.
Like most Americans, Tonette and I were concerned for our safety. As the days went on, we grew increasingly concerned that our young sons would forever be haunted by the images of the World Trade Center towers collapsing. Twenty-five years later, the images are still vivid in our minds.
Thankfully, our children also have another memory from that week. President George W. Bush officially called on all Americans to participate in evening candlelight remembrance vigils that Friday night. Tonette and I invited many of the families from our sons’ school to join us in our yard. We did not know whether anyone would join us.
To our surprise, when we opened the front door, the yard was filled with people. We were overwhelmed. I ran into our garage and found a box of long candles, grabbed a knife from the kitchen, cut the candles into smaller pieces and handed them out to all the children, parents and grandparents gathered around our home.
My father, a retired pastor, led us in a prayer of remembrance. We lit the candles and sang “God Bless America.” It was powerful.
Later, we learned that Mr. Bush had hosted a somber prayer service at the National Cathedral with spiritual leaders and political leaders from both parties while church bells rang across America. After the service, he traveled to New York City.
I remember seeing him stand atop the smoking rubble of the World Trade Center with his arm around retired New York City firefighter Bob Beckwith. Mr. Bush spoke to the rescue workers.
When one called out that he could not hear the president, Mr. Bush gave his now-famous response: “I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”
The rescue workers responded with chants of “USA!” It was yet another moving moment.
As the official 9/11 Memorial and Museum states: “The terrorist organization al-Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Founded by Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda is responsible for multiple terrorist attacks since its founding in the 1980s. Their aim has been to overthrow governments in the Middle East, and elsewhere in the Muslim world, which does not strictly enforce a narrow, fundamentalist version of Islam. U.S. support for these governments was viewed by al-Qaeda as a major obstacle to this goal, and they hoped these attacks would weaken American support for these governments.”
Bin Laden was upset that Saudi Arabia’s government had allowed American troops into that country during the Persian Gulf War and was outraged that non-Muslim military forces were allowed near Mecca and Medina. He condemned American support for Israel and other Middle Eastern countries that did not enforce his radical interpretation of Islamic law.
Al Qaeda leaders believed that hitting targets inside the U.S. would strike fear in the hearts of our citizens. Bin Laden hoped that would cause the government to abandon our allies in the Middle East and withdraw our troops from the region.
He also thought that counterattacks would mobilize the larger Muslim world, increase his numbers in al Qaeda and establish a caliphate.
Instead, American resolve grew. “United We Stand” was more than a motto; it became a way of life at the time. Ultimately, al Qaeda was degraded and bin Laden was hunted down while in hiding.
Most of the young people in college today, however, were born after the 9/11 attacks. Radical professors, left-wing teachers and liberal influencers spew dangerous rhetoric and say that America deserved the attacks. Many side with the Islamic terrorists who attacked us that day.
To counter this nonsense, we help students put up 2,977 American flags — one for each life stolen on Sept. 11, 2001 — at schools across the country. Over the years, Young America’s Foundation has helped college and high school students put up more than 14.7 million flags.
It is up to us to remind them what happened that day, who did it and why, and we must be vigilant to ensure that it never happens again.
• Scott Walker is a columnist for The Washington Times. He was the 45th governor of Wisconsin and launched a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He lives in Milwaukee and is the proud owner of a 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King. He can be reached at swalker@washingtontimes.com.
Follow the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.