What Do You Remember About Sept. 11, 2001?

10 years ago, no one knew what was about to happen in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. No one knew what changes were about to come for the United States. 

Shortly before 8 a.m. central time on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, news went out that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Within 15 minutes, a second plane crashed into the second tower. Many television news programs, already covering the first crash, showed the second crash live.

As the morning went on, a third hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in a field about 80 miles away from Pittsburgh. 

The country's air space was shut down, stranding President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara in the Milwaukee area. 

The attacks were the impetus for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. They heightened racial and religious tensions. But they also saw people pull together in extraordinary ways to help. 

A decade later, many remember where they were when they heard of the attacks, what that day was like, and the emotions that came after. For some, the impact didn't fade. 

Russ Spahn has performed the national anthem at countless ceremonies and celebrations over the years. The recently retired chief has sung the Star Spangled Banner at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers, and hopes to someday do the same at the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field. But perhaps no rendition of this country’s anthem will resonate louder than Spahn’s performances of the song on Sept. 11, 2002. Spahn was asked to sing the national anthem at three separate ceremonies on the one-year anniversary of the attacks. “One year later, we knew all the names of all the people that died,” Spahn said. “It really hit hard and each ceremony I went to was very emotional.”

Though nearly 900 miles away from Ground Zero, Greenfield firefighter Kevin Wisniewski felt compelled to pay homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. A year after the attack, Wisniewski and three other members of the Greenfield Fire Department flew to New York to participate in a massive gathering to honor every firefighter lost in the attacks. Later, Wisniewski visited Ground Zero, where signs of the destruction and devastation remained, as did memorial walls with pictures and notes and lit candles. “It was impossible to keep your eyes dry to see clearly,” Wisniewski said. “I remember thinking that every American should be made to take this walk past Ground Zero. … I could feel the emotions of thousands of people that weekend.”

Read more stories about how Sept. 11 affected people in the area in these stories from Patch.

Brookfield: 
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Fox Point: 
Greenfield:Firefighter Recalls 9/11/02 Trip to Ground Zero and
Menomonee Falls: 
Muskego: 
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Oak Creek: 
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What do you remember about Sept. 11, 2001? A decade later, how do you think the attacks are still being felt?