At 8:46 A.M., the first plane barrels into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. About 17 minutes later, the second aircraft collides with the South Tower.
This is the beginning of the timeline of the 9/11 devastation according to Katherine Huiskes at the Miller Center. September 11, 2024 marked the 23rd anniversary of the attacks on America via hijacked planes. “Never forget, always remember” is etched into United States history. On that day, many citizens were on the edge of their seats, eyes glued to the news, which was broadcasting this pivotal moment. Heather Loeschke was one of those people.
“I remember exactly where I was when the second plane went into the second tower. I was at school that day. It was before classes started and Mr. Vande Hoef and I watched it happen on the television in our shared classroom,” she recalled. “We thought horrible plane accident…we had no idea that America was under attack.”
Loeschke is a World History, AP US Government and AP US History teacher at Cannon Falls High School. She has done countless acts to improve her students’ experience and knowledge relating to major historical events. One of the most remarkable is positioning 2,977 American flags into the ground in front of the main doors of the high school; each student in every one of Loeschke’s classes was given 25 flags to put down. This year is the second that this project was organized, and was put into action to honor the many lives lost on that tragic day.
Being the second year this has been arranged, plans went through with a little more turbulence than expected. “Last year I went to both the Cannon Falls VFW and American Legion posts and asked for their help (buying the flags and banner) so I could do this. I explained my idea and both organizations were completely on board,” Loeschke explained. However, things didn’t go as she had intended. “It was totally my fault, the size I ordered just wasn’t giving off the image I had imagined.” This year, Liz O’Gorman, a VFW Auxiliary member, supported the goal and stepped in. Loeschke explained the predicament and “she said, ‘Okay, I’ll buy them for you.’” The flags will be stored away carefully on September 16 for next year’s commemoration.
Grace Parks, a senior at Cannon Falls High School, shared her experience in putting the flags into the ground. “Our class is at the very end of the day so once we got outside to place the remaining flags it was incredibly hot — I remember sweat dripping down as I was trying to shove the flag into the ground,” Parks stated. She went on to say that “even though the act of planting the flags was challenging, the message behind what we were doing made the whole experience worth it.”
The morning of September 11, 2001, was a monumental moment for the entire country, and it continues to have a great impact on life today. It’s important to honor the lives lost and the influence these attacks had on today’s society. As expressed by Loeschke, “my students now live in a world of potential terrorist attacks and it’s important for them to know and understand exactly what happened on Sept. 11, 2001.”
