Aviation Heritage Park marks 25 years since 9/11
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) — The Aviation Heritage Park and Museum marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Friday with a remembrance ceremony honoring those who were killed, the first responders who rushed toward danger and the service members who answered the call in the years that followed.
Retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Todd Wiles, a Warren East High School and Western Kentucky University graduate, served as the featured speaker. His message centered on remembrance — and on making sure a generation too young to remember Sept. 11 understands its impact.
Wiles overcome with emotion
Wiles reflected on the fear, uncertainty and anger Americans experienced that morning.
“The younger generation, born since or just before 911, may not understand the fear, the panic, the uncertainty and the chaos and the burning anger of that morning 25 years ago,” Wiles said. “It is painful, but necessary to ensure the new generation never forgets the terror perpetrated on an innocent American public and our own country.”
His remarks soon became deeply personal.
“Some may be too young to remember, or to know the desperation of those who fought for their lives, and the fleeting minutes they had left,” Wiles said. “Remember them today in their final moments.”
Overcome with emotion, Wiles stopped speaking and sat down. His wife stepped to the podium and continued reading his prepared remarks.
“I’m Todd’s other half. So please bear with me,” she told those gathered. “It’s an emotional time for our family to reflect on this day.”
A message for the next generation
The remainder of Wiles’ speech focused on the lives lost in the attacks, the first responders who ran toward danger and the military members who served in the years that followed.
His wife also delivered one of the speech’s central messages: remembering Sept. 11 is not only about looking back.
“We’re here today because good must stand against evil. Light will always overcome darkness,” she read. “We’re here today to ensure the next generation does not forget. For if we forget and minimize that day, we are risking history repeating itself in the generations to come.”
The speech also recalled the national unity Wiles witnessed after the attacks.
“I personally will never forget how America came together as a unified nation,” Wiles wrote. “The sense of national unity, the sense of national purpose like I had never seen before in my lifetime.”
Ceremony honors lives lost
The ceremony opened with the presentation of the colors and the national anthem, followed by prayer.
Veterans and current and former first responders in attendance were also asked to stand and be recognized.
Later, those gathered observed a moment of silence as organizers marked key moments from the morning of Sept. 11, including the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the collapse of both World Trade Center towers.
The remembrance concluded with prayer and a final tribute to those who lost their lives and those whose service and sacrifice continued in the years after the attacks.
