Last Updated on September 12, 2022, 2:49 PM | Published: September 11, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — Sunday, the OKC metro was relatively quiet when it came to commemorating the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Some speculate that the yearly commemoration of the heinous Murrah Building bombing in downtown Oklahoma City just six years before on April 19th has continued to overshadow remembrances of 9/11 for Cityans and officials.
9/11
A series of coordinated terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, shook the people of the United States who once believed that we were immune from such horrors.
Flying hijacked passenger planes full of fuel and passengers, well-rehearsed terrorists flew one plane each into the Twin Towers in the City of New York, and another into The Pentagon near the nation’s Capitol. Both towers were completely destroyed killing thousands still trapped inside along with firefighters, medics, and police who were rushing up stairs to rescue those still trapped.
A third attack with a passenger plane believed to be targeting the White House was foiled by a group of passengers who found from phone calls what was going on, organized, and broke into the cabin fighting with the hijacker piloting the plane. The plane nosed down into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, killing all on board.
Commemorations — 2022
- A tradition of honoring the many firefighters who climbed over 100 floors of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 and were subsequently killed when those towers collapsed continues on in Oklahoma City and around the state by firefighters in full turn-out gear climbing an equivalent of stairs in locals stadiums to honor the fallen New York City firefighters on September 11. Law enforcement officers and others joined the firefighters in their memorial climbs in several locations in OKC and around the state.
- While the Mayor of Oklahoma City gives much attention to the Oklahoma City Bombing memorial each year, City Hall officials say that his giving a statement on 9/ll is not something that has been done in the past or this year.
- Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt ordered all flags on state property to be flown at half-staff on 9/11 and participated in one of the stadium runs.
- The Oklahoma Legislature also ordered for the first time the flying of a special “Freedom Flag” at the state Capitol in commemoration of those whose lives were taken that day.
- Speaker of the House, Charles McCall issued a statement saying, in part, “”On September 11, 2001, our nation changed forever. We experienced pain, fear and loss that is difficult to fathom. Brave first responders and volunteers desperately searched for survivors, and as one nation we united in mourning for those who were lost.”
- U.S. President Joe Biden laid a wreath at The Pentagon, solemnly honoring those military personnel and civilian employees who died on 9/11 when one of the hijacked planes flew into the side of the massive five-story building as the work day was in full swing.
“In the crucible of 9/11, in the days and months that followed, we saw what stuff America is made — Americans are made of,” said Biden.
The resulting War in Afghanistan resulted in years of bloodshed both between U.S. military members and local Afghans opposed to the Taliban. That war ended in August 2021 when the last service member, a U.S. general, stepped onto a plane and flew out of the country.
After recalling the hunt for and killing of the mastermind of the attacks, Osama Bin Laden, and killing his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri, Biden returned to word of comfort for those who lost loved ones on 9/11.
“I hope we’ll remember that in the midst of these dark days, we dug deep, we cared for each other, and we came together,” said Biden at the Pentagon memorial. “You know, we regained the light by reaching out to one another and finding something all too rare — a true sense of national unity.”
Feature photo credits: 9/11 Tribute in Light by Jordan Staub on Flickr taken Sept. 12, 2021. https://flickr.com/photos/cantbecool/
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
