25 years after 9/11: Remembering the day that changed America

ONTARIO — Twenty-five years have passed since the Sept. 11 attacks, but the memories of that day remain vivid for those who lived through it.

The Ontario/Mansfield community gathered Friday afternoon for the 4th annual Field of Honor to remember the thousands who died as well as honor the first responders, military members and others who ran toward the danger.

More than 500 American flags stood in front of the Area Agency on Aging, each one representing a tribute to an active-duty military member, first responder, fallen serviceman, servicewoman or veteran.

Members of the Ontario High School Key Club, with support from the Kiwanis Club of Mansfield, placed the flags across the grounds.

Rev. El. Akuchie opened the ceremony with a prayer. The Richland County Honor Guard presented the colors, Morgyn Beasley sang the national anthem and Douglas Keppler performed a bagpipe postlude.

‘There’s a before and there’s an after’

Mansfield Mayor Jodie Perry remembered Sept. 11, 2001, as one of those unexpected moments that divided life into a before and and after.

Perry was working that morning when her father called around 10:15 a.m. and asked, “What do you think about what’s happening?”

She had no idea what he meant. Perry turned on the television just after the first World Trade Center tower had fallen and watched as the second tower collapsed only minutes later.

Perry had moved from Washington a year earlier and said she had friends and family in the area, making the attacks especially concerning.

“It was such a surreal feeling,” Perry recalled from a journal entry she wrote that day. “Some were crying … others seemed unmoved. It seemed that no one wanted to be alone.”

Hopefully it reminds us every Sept. 11 that we are always stronger when we’re together as a country and certainly as a human race.

Mansfield mayor jodie perry

The world seemed to come to a stop that day, she noted. 

Perry’s memories from that day include the silence in the skies as planes stopped flying, memorials on television, first responders running into the buildings and President Bush speaking to the nation.

For a brief moment, Perry said, it felt as though the country might emerge more united than it had when the crisis began.

“Hopefully it reminds us every Sept. 11 that we are always stronger when we’re together as a country and certainly as a human race,” Perry said.

She also remembered those who lost their lives simply by going to work that morning, unaware of what would occur only hours later.

“The world seemed to have come to a stop that day,” she said. “May we always remember that feeling.”

From a young lieutenant to a Mansfield leader

Col. Jack W. Johnson, Commander of the 179th Cyberspace Wing of the Mansfield Lahm Air National Guard Base, reflected on Sept. 11 from the perspective of a young second lieutenant working as a radar evaluation engineer with the 84th Radar Evaluation Division.

Johnson said the Air Force had only about 15 radar evaluation engineers at the time.

He had just arrived at work when someone told him a small airplane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. By the time he reached the building’s only television, it had become clear the crash was not an accident, he said.

“I remember the shock,” Johnson said. “But mostly, I remember the uncertainty.”

Johnson and his colleagues quickly downloaded radar data, analyzed it on their computers and reconstructed what had happened.

He said the squadron then shifted to 24-hour operations.

“That night reports and rumors were coming in from everywhere,” he said.

Johnson mentioned receiving a late-night call about a report that the military had shot down an airplane, checking the radar data and determining the report was not true.

In the days that followed, the squadron reconstructed the movement of the aircraft involved in the attacks. Its radar data and analysis eventually became part of the historical record used by the 9/11 Commission.

“I didn’t appreciate the significance of any of that at the time,” Johnson said. “I was a young lieutenant staring at computer screens just trying to do my job.”

He also spoke about the Ohio National Guard’s response that day, including launching F-16s and refuelers and the activation of soldiers and airmen throughout the state to protect airports and military installations.

He connected that response to the mission of the 179th Cyberspace Wing in Mansfield, where he now leads airmen working with technology to help protect American aircraft.

“Twenty-five years ago I was working behind the scenes looking at computer screens and trying to understand what had just happened,” Johnson said. “Today, I have the privilege of leading airmen in Mansfield who work behind the scenes to help control the skies of the future.”

Johnson said the attacks also offer a lesson about how quickly life can change.

“Sept. 11 is a reminder that another day is never guaranteed,” he said. “Nearly 3,000 people who woke up that morning didn’t get the 25 years that we’ve all had since.”

Not only do we owe it to those who lost theirs lives to stay in our memories, Johnson said, but we owe it to them to actually live. He encouraged those gathered to be kind to one another, spend time with family and make the most of their lives.

“Today, I get to stand here as the commander of the 179th Cyberspace Wing and tell you something I could not have told you then,” Johnson said. “You made it.”

A father’s example, a son’s service

Keynote speaker Doug Theaker connected the Sept. 11 attacks with the sacrifices made by American service members throughout the nation’s history.

Theaker, who is 90 years old, recalled his father serving during World War II and remembered being a young boy when his father left for the South Pacific.

“I wanted to be just like my dad,” Theaker said. “I remember being so proud of my father and what he did for his country and I wanted to be a part of that.”

At 17, he joined the Navy, inspired by his father’s service.

Theaker recalled a more recent moment that brought tears to his eyes involving a mother and young boy behind him at a grocery store.

The boy’s mother whispered something to her son, who then got Theaker’s attention and saluted.

“Thank you, Mister, for your service,” the boy said.

He continues to work on behalf of veterans in the community and stressed the importance of remembering those who have served.

“This is the land of the free only because of the brave,” Theaker said.

(Photos from the 4th annual Field of Honor ceremony on Friday afternoon. Credit: Hannah Martin)