Lincoln veterans, first responders honor anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks

Posted By: Bayley Bischof 

bbischof@klkntv.com 

On a Tuesday morning 17 years ago, the United States was rocked by a terrorist attack.

The World Trade Center’s Twin Towers fell, The Pentagon was attacked and nearly 3,000 people were killed.

So on this day, thousands of miles from where the tragedy happened, Lincoln Nebraska is remembering.

"I was working as an electronics technician at the main post office downtown when we heard of the first tower had been hit,” said Randall Meyers, a veteran.

Meyers said he was among hundreds of people in Lincoln who went to the blood bank to try and donate to survivors of the attack.

He said he and another local veteran spent hours packing blood to be sent to New York. Even though it never ended up making it there due to travel restrictions, he said just doing that made a difference.

"It was a sad day, but a day of community,” Meyers said. “Seeing hundreds of people line up to donate blood."

He wasn’t the only one to jump into action.

"I was in the army,” Ken Colson said. “That was a day that made a big impact on my life and fellow service members that day. We ended up calling our units and reporting to them and just waiting for things to happen."

Meyers and Colson were at the Veteran’s Memorial Garden in Antelope Park for a ceremony Tuesday morning. They put out a wreath in honor of those who died that day.

Lincoln first responders held a ceremony at the Capitol Building Tuesday morning as well.

"I think back to 9/11 and what it did to us in terms of changing our society and how tragic that was,” Chief Michael Despain said. “But I also remember what America was like in the many days afterward. The community came together."

He asked the community to do the same on this anniversary, to thank the first responders who risked their lives, and those who continue to every day.

"It made a lot of difference in our lives, every day when we come to work as first responders we treat our jobs a little differently than we did before 9/11,” Despain said.

One of Lincoln’s first responders is Police Officer Erin Spilker.

She said she had just turned in her application to be a police officer when the attacks happened.

"I had already made the decision that I wanted to be a police officer and when this happened it was a real reality check for me,” Spilker said. “It made it real that I may be giving my life for everybody else."

She became an officer, and has even been part of the honor guard for seven years. She performed the National Anthem at the ceremony Tuesday.

Despain, and the veterans we spoke to, said the protectors of this city, and the country, are honored to make those sacrifices for the country, and don’t ask for anything in return.

Except that you never forget those sacrifices, and continue to educate your children, those who many not remember what happened 17 years ago, so they can continue the legacy of honoring the thousands of lives taken by terrorists.