St. Joseph remembers 9/11 victims 25 years later

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)-- St. Joseph leaders gathered Friday to remember those who lost their lives 25 years ago in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A remembrance ceremony at the St. Joseph Firefighter Memorial at Fire Station 9 gave community members a chance to reflect on the attacks and the lives lost.

St. Joseph Fire Chief Ivan Klippenstein reflected on where he was when the attacks happened.

He said he was on his way to check on cattle when he turned his vehicle around and headed back to the house to see what was happening.

"To see what was happening, and as people who were around that day, they remember everything about it," he said.

Now, 25 years later, Klippenstein said the ceremony is an opportunity to help younger generations understand what happened, even if they were not alive or old enough to remember the attacks.

He hopes events like this will help the community remember an important moment in history and prevent something similar from happening again.

"There were some good things like neighbors working together, which was great, but we would be best to know what happened and avoid it in the future," he said.

Among those attending was Julie Hall, Cubmaster for Pack 30. She brought her children and said the event was a way to incorporate history and social studies into their homeschooling while also representing their Cub Scout pack.

Hall said she wants to make sure her children learn about 9/11, especially since their family does a unit study on the attacks around this time each year.

"Today it's been really impactful as we went to the stair climb this morning at Missouri Western and then we were able to come here. We were the bell ringers at Missouri Western," Hall said.

For Hall, the day was about more than just learning about history. She hopes her children walk away with a stronger connection to their community, a sense of citizenship and an understanding that the decisions they make can affect the people around them.

She also wants her children to recognize the value of being part of the United States.

"I was in Virginia on 9/11, which is a 15-minute drive from the Pentagon, and I was in second grade, and they were really worried that the next attack was going to be elementary schools," she said.

Hall said she still vividly remembers sitting in her classroom with the television on as the news unfolded. She watched as, one by one, her classmates were picked up from school.

She said the experience was frightening, and it's something she knows she will never forget.

"I wasn't even anywhere close to what actually would happen, and those people who sacrificed their whole lives and their futures for us to go in and save the people in the Pentagon and the towers," Hall said.

One of Hall's favorite parts of the ceremony was hearing speakers talk about the sacrifices made by those who were in the towers.

She also appreciated seeing the ROTC students take turns ringing the bell during the ceremony. For her, it brought the day full circle after she and her children participated in the stair climb and rang the bell earlier in the morning at Missouri Western State University.