The sounds of bagpipes carried across MU’s Francis Quadrangle this morning as community members gathered to remember the tragic events of 9/11.
Dr. Richard Barohn, dean of MU’s School of Medicine, told those gathered that he remembers clearly where he was when he heard about the events that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001. On a drive to work in Kansas City, he heard a report on the radio. But he says the gravity of the situation only set in when everyone at his work was huddled around radios and televisions.
Barohn thanked the first responders and armed forces members in attendance and reminded the crowd that patriots aren’t just those who serve in the military.
“It's easy to associate patriots and veterans,” Barohn said. “… But it is in no way required to serve in the armed forces to be a patriot. We all can be patriots and we all are patriots.”
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe said she also vividly remembers when she heard about the 9/11 attack. At the time Buffaloe was a student at MU about to walk to class just on the other side of Jessie Hall from where she stood Monday.
“I think we keep it alive by doing events like this, by bringing people together and by retelling these stories,” Buffaloe said.
Also in attendance were members of Missouri Task Force 1, who were deployed to New York City on 9/11.
Doug Westhoff, a task force leader with Missouri Task Force 1 and deputy chief of the Boone County Fire Protection District, says he didn’t get the chance to see footage of the collision until he had landed on the East Coast.
“Going into Ground Zero was totally surreal,” Westhoff said, “coming out of Boone County, Columbia, and the first assignment we got was a 23-story Marriott Hotel that was smashed down to nine stories.”
Westhoff says that as it has gotten farther away from the event, he tries to tune in to programs that look at 9/11 from a different perspective.
But ultimately, Westhoff says, it's just important to “never forget.”
