Destroying innocence

By Jess Wygle: I was a freshman at Linn-Mar high school on Sept. 11, 2001. I was walking to study hall when I overheard people saying a plane had flown into the White House. I was completely oblivious and somewhat naive when it came to politics, our nation and terrorism. I had grown up in a pretty terror-free world. I had lived through the Una-bomber and Operation Desert Storm but knew nothing about them.

When I heard a plane had flown into the White House, my world was turned upside down. I was introduced to a world of hatred and evil, a world I'd never known before. My then principle, Mr. Van Dyke, came over the intercom and announced to the school that terrorists had made an attack on our nation and that the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon had been hit by hijacked airplanes. Again, I did not know what the World Trade Centers were, and I had only heard about the Pentagon but really didn't know anything about it.

The mood and the atmosphere of the school shifted instantly. Students just as clueless as I was seemed to cling to each other as the fear of a Midwestern attack lingered on everyone's minds. Teachers and even some mature students seemed to grasp the seriousness of this devastating event and became sullen, fearful, shocked and sorrowful. School was released early that day.

They talked about it on the radio on my way home. It was on every television channel when I got home. For the first time in my life, I felt empathy for complete strangers. I cried watching the ashy faces of New Yorkers frantically running from the collapsing building. News reporters spoke of the heroics on Flight 193. The helpless people plunging to their deaths from 50 stories in hopes of saving themselve from burning alive. The firefighters who were the first responders and would never go home to see their families again.

9/11 is my day of infamy, and I will never forget it. It has made me a better, more empathetic person. Thank you to the men and women who lost their lives that day, and the countless men and women who still fight for our freedom today!