10 minute read
‘Everything came to a stop’
Attacks on America still resonate
The emotions and memories from that tragic day remain just below the surface.
It was the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and terrorists, piloting hijacked passenger airliners, pulled off a series of coordinated attacks that led to the death of thousands on U.S. soil. It also started 20 years of military action that only recently concluded with President Joe Biden withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.
In the following pages, the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News have pieced together a series of stories that include eyewitness accounts provided by locals who were in New York and Washington, D.C., on 9/11, how some have chosen to commemorate the annual anniversary, views and recollections from veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the personal memories and emotions shared by first responders and readers of the Tribune and Daily News.
We also have included articles from the archives of the two publications that provide a glimpse at how things were in the days that followed the attacks.
This special section, titled Forever Remember, hopefully in some small way fulfills a pledge made by many that horrific day now two decades ago: “We will never forget.”
Craig Clohessy Managing editor Lewiston Tribune
© 2021 TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY
INSIDE
‘Everything came to a stop’ ......................................................................... 3-5 Shadow of death; terrorists attack from the sky ........................................ 6-8 Area fi refi ghters take ‘never forget’ seriously .......................................... 9-10 No one knew where the next attack could happen ................................... 11-12 Air travel brought to unprecedented standstill ............................................ 13 Attacks triggered changes to life in U.S. ...................................................... 14 Grangeville alone has a busy airport ........................................................... 15 Memories from being there .................................................................... 16-18 Time has passed, but memory still fresh of that day in D.C. ........................ 19 Prayer vigils bring Americans together ................................................... 20-21 Palouse gatherings demonstrate unity ......................................................... 21 Veterans compare terrorism with Pearl Harbor ........................................... 22 Sharing the stories of “common people” ................................................. 23-25 Looking back on their service ................................................................. 26-27 Dark debut for an enlightening program ..................................................... 28 “We will lose a lot of freedoms” ................................................................... 29 The sleeping giant of 1941 and of America today ......................................... 30 As the decades pass, our memories evolve ............................................ 31-32 PREMIUM EDITION STAFF
Publisher ................. NATHAN ALFORD: (208) 848-2208 / alford@lmtribune.com Marketing director ........DOUG BAUER: (208) 848-2269 / dbauer@lmtribune.com Tribune editor ..... CRAIG CLOHESSY: (208) 848-2251 / cclohessy@lmtribune.com Daily News editor ... CRAIG STASZKOW: (208) 883-4642 / cstaszkow@dnews.com Archivist .............. DUSTY OSBORNE: (208) 848-2238 / dosborne@lmtribune.com Photo editor ................ PETE CASTER: (208) 848-2279 / pcaster@lmtribune.com Production editor ..........BRIAN BEESLEY: (208) 848-2241 / beez@lmtribune.com
Extra copies of this publication can be purchased for $2 at the Tribune and the Daily News offices, 505 Capital St., Lewiston and 220 E. Fifth St., Suite 314, Moscow.
Brookdale Lewiston salutes our first responders both nationally and of the Lewis-
Clark Valley. Thank you for your courage, dedication and loyalty as you have served our country proudly. We love you!
“Heroes Brookdale” would like to honor our senior families for their service. Heroes Brookdale is an extension of our “Safely Somewhere” program, which helps ensure all seniors are safe wherever they live. If you know of a local senior who could use some extra care, contact Brookdale Lewiston.
Formerly known as Emeritus at Juniper Meadows Our Family is Committed to Yours.®
Associated Press Smoke billows from one of the towers of the World Trade Center as debris explodes from the second tower in this Sept. 11, 2001, fi le photo. In one of the most horrifying attacks ever against the United States, terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in a deadly series of blows that brought down the twin 110-story towers. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the attacks. 9/11 attacks a defining moment for 21st century America
By WILLIAM L. SPENCE
OF THE TRIBUNE
It was a day like any other, until it became a day unlike any in our nation’s history.
War had come to America before, but never like this — never in hijacked airplanes and suicide attacks that specifically targeted the civilian population.
Twenty years ago Saturday, 19 radical Islamist terrorists changed all that. In coordinated strikes, they seized four commercial airliners and flew first one, then another, into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center. A third struck the Pentagon, while a fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
Around the country, people stood in front of television sets watching the Twin Towers burn, their stunned disbelief turning to horror as two of the tallest buildings in the world collapsed.
Nearly 3,000 people died. Among the fatalities were 343 New York City firefighters and another 68 police and emergency personnel.
“For the first responders, it was a normal day that turned into a disaster,” said Noel Hardin, chief of Asotin County Fire District 1. “They just went to work like they would any day, and look at how many lives were changed.” The Asotin district, which is staffed almost entirely by volunteers, celebrated its 50th anniversary in July 2001. The morning of the attacks, Hardin — who had already been with the Hardin district 17 years by that time — drove to Lewiston for his regular Tuesday meeting with fire chiefs from around the valley at the Waffles n’ More cafe.
“The place is usually packed, but that morning there was hardly anyone there,” Hardin recalled. “They had a small black-and-white television set up on the counter. It was eerie, just watching it on TV. It was like everything came to a stop.”
A good place to be
Lewiston native Jimmy Farris was in San Francisco at the time, trying to make it as a wide receiver in the National Football League.
A multisport standout for the Lewiston Bengals, Farris played college ball with the University of Montana Grizzlies. After graduating the previous spring, he’d been signed
as an undrafted free agent by the San Francisco 49ers. He’d been released by the team on Sept. 2, just before the first game of the season, but was added to the practice squad two days later. “My life at that time was pretty great,” Farris recalled. “I remember being very thankful and hopeful. All I ever wanted in football was an opportunity. My goal was to make the final roster. That didn’t happen, but I was still part of the team, playing every day. I was part of an organization that had an incredible culture, and I’d developed some close relationships with my teammates.” When the 9/11 attacks occurred,
Farris Farris was living with Terrell Owens, the 49ers’ AllPro wide receiver. He got up early that morning to drive a friend to the airport. On the way, they heard a radio report about a plane crashing into one of the World Trade Center towers. “I remember the announcers were making light of it, wondering how some idiot pilot managed to hit a building,” Farris said. “This was before Twitter and smartphones, so nobody knew (the extent of the attacks).”
He dropped his friend at the airport and drove home. By the time he arrived, the second plane had hit. “Everyone realized this wasn’t just a lost crop duster,” Farris said. His friend called an hour later and said all the commercial flights had been canceled. He picked her up and came back to Owens’ place. “Tuesday was our day off, so we spent the whole day on the couch in his living room, watching TV,” Farris said. “I remember looking over at Terrell. Everyone was in shock.” Owens had a private chef who stopped by a couple of times each week, making meals for the days ahead. She’d been there on Monday, so they didn’t even need to go out for food. “We just hung out at the house,” Farris said. “It was a good place to be.” safe place as well, although it lacked the same amenities. Otter, who would go on to serve three terms as Idaho governor, was back in Washington, D.C., at the time, serving as a freshman representative for the state’s 1st Congressional District. “I was speaking to a group that morning about a block and a half from the White House,” Otter said. “My press guy came up and whispered to me that an airplane had hit the (north) tower of the World Trade Center. Naturally, we thought some small plane had lost its way. By the time we finished and got back to
Associated Press Firefi ghters are deployed near the site of the World Trade Center in New York, in this Sept. 12, 2001, fi le photo.
the car, the second tower had been hit. But I never for a moment imagined we were under attack.”
He returned to the U.S. Capitol and joined several other congressmen in a previously scheduled news conference. It took place outside the building, in a spot that overlooked the Potomac River. “We were standing there with our backs to the Pentagon when we heard an explosion,” Otter said. “The Pentagon had been hit. That set off a panic, with people running everywhere. I’d never seen anything like it. I mean, it was chaotic. Nobody knew where to go.”
He met with his staff in a nearby building, watching on TV as the two towers collapsed. Then Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg came by and said everyone was supposed to go to a safe house. Otter wasn’t convinced about that, so he went outside and talked to a U.S. marshal, who was directing traffic. “I asked if he knew anything about a safe house,” he said. “Right about then (California Rep.) Darrell Issa came by in his pickup truck and said jump in, he knew where to go. So four or five of us got in the back and we sped down the street. He took us to a building, I think it was the headquarters for the Capitol Police. There were concrete bunkers in the basement.” Several other senators and representatives were in the room. The Senate sergeant-atarms came by and gave them a briefing on the situation. He noted that all commercial jets in U.S. airspace had been ordered to land, whether they had reached their destination or not. “That affected about 4,600 airplanes,” Otter said. “Of those, three couldn’t be accounted for. We couldn’t leave the bunker until they were located, because they thought they might be heading for D.C.” Two of the planes had already landed. The third was United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in Pennsylvania as passengers and crew fought to regain control of the plane. “They figure it was probably headed for the Capitol,” Otter said. “We were supposed to go into session that morning at 10, so we all would have been there. I don’t know how much damage it would have done (had the aircraft impacted the building), and I don’t want to know. I just thank God for those patriots on the plane.”
United we stand
As was the case in New York City, Tuesday began as a normal day in north central Idaho and southeastern Washington. Asotin County residents learned that the county commissioners had agreed to put a $6.75 million bond levy proposal on the November ballot to build an aquatics center. In Pullman, what was then the Pullman Memorial Hospital board began its public outreach efforts on another ballot measure, a $8.2 million construction bond for a new hospital.
Washington State University students were still rejoicing after the Cougars’ 41-20 victory over Boise State University the previous Saturday. During the preseason, the team had been picked to finish last in the Pac-10 Conference that year. Instead, the Cougs went on to have a recordtying 10-2 run, capping the season by defeating Purdue 33-27 in the Sun Bowl. In Lewiston, supporters were scrambling to gather enough signatures to put a strong mayor initiative on the
