A 1979 ad for Pakistani Airlines promoting its flights to New York City.

Not including the marriage to our spouse, or the birth of our children, many of us have dates and times in our lives that are imbedded in our memories forever! These are dates and times that we will always know where we were at that specific moment. For me there are two; November 22, 1963 and September 11, 2001.

The first, November 22, 1963 at about 10:30 am (PST) I was a high school sophomore and in my auto shop class at Sweetwater Union High School in National City, California when over the school public address system an announcement was made that the President of the United States John F. Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas, Texas! I remember how surprised I was at the depth of pain and fear I, and my fellow students felt when we heard the news! For me it was the first time I had experienced an event that impacted not only the United States, but was felt world-wide and is still felt today!

The second date is September 11, 2001 and is now known as “9/11”! It was nearly 6:00 am (PST) and I was downstairs in my home preparing for work and watching the morning news. The regular programming was interrupted with breaking news to report on a plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City! The live picture on the screen and the initial commentary made it appear that this was some sort of an accident. My wife Carolyn was upstairs getting ready for her work-day and I yelled up to her to tell her about the plane crash! By the time she came downstairs another plane crashed into the second tower! We both did not realize, at that moment, our lives and the lives of all Americans would be changed forever!

My realization started when I arrived for work at the Courthouse in Ventura and I began locking down that building as word spread this was a confirmed terrorist attack on American soil! All of us would soon learn of two other hijacked airliners; one crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC and another into a field near rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The crash in Shanksville was the result of passengers on board the ill-fated aircraft trying to stop the hijackers from completing what we later learned was another well coordinated suicide mission being carried out by a total of 19 hijackers. Since 9/11 it has become more difficult for Americans to travel by air, my Son, oldest grandson, daughter-in-law, two nephews and many of the men and women from the communities of Fillmore and Piru have joined the military services and are currently serving in what now has been a 10-year war against Terrorism! I thank them and the many other men and women serving for their sacrifice and service!

Nearly 3,000 victims and the 19 hijackers died in the attacks on September 11, 2001! Their coordinated act of flying three of four hijacked commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon spread terror in lives of all Americans. We now know American soil is vulnerable to terrorist attack! The impact of that horrific day continues today as fresh in the minds of all Americans as it was nearly 10-years ago!

Among the 2,753 victims who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center were 343 firefighters and 60 police officers from New York City and the Port Authority, and 8 private emergency medical technicians and paramedics. Another 184 people were killed in the attack on the Pentagon along with 40 crew and passengers who perished aboard Flight 93 when it crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. The overwhelming majority of casualties at the World Trade Center, however, were civilians, including nationals of over 70 countries. There were an additional 6,000 Americans injured in this attack.

September 11, 2001 is also widely known as the reason the United States of America and our allies entered into the Global War on Terrorism on September 20, 2001. Since that time many more American lives have been lost and more American lives changed forever. They are the American soldiers and their families of those who have been killed, or wounded in action while serving in the Middle East to ensure there will never be another September 11th! The casualty numbers are staggering; since September 20, 2001 nearly 5,000 American military personnel have been killed in action and more than 60,550 wounded in action! There has been another 1,311 who have died of non-hostile actions while serving in the Middle East.

On Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 8:00 am the public is invited to attend a “10th Anniversary of September 11th Memorial Ceremony” to give the people of Fillmore an opportunity to pay their respects on the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001 and in remembrance of the fallen firefighters, peace officers and military personnel who lost their lives, or were injured during that terrorist attack on American soil. The Memorial Ceremony will be held in front of the City of Fillmore Fire Department, 711 Sespe Place located between Old Telegraph Road and “A” Street. This event will be hosted by the Fillmore Fire Department and the Fillmore Volunteer Firefighter's Foundation.

I hope the residents of Fillmore will take this opportunity to attend this event and show that Fillmore will never forget those who have fallen and those who continue to sacrifice so much for all of us! They are truly our American Heroes!