{"id":345547,"date":"2026-09-13T11:50:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/345547\/"},"modified":"2026-09-13T11:50:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T11:50:15","slug":"9-11-25-america-looks-back-moves-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/345547\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/11 + 25: America looks back, moves forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

At sunset on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans were too shaken by the day\u2019s cascade of horrors to contemplate the course of the next 24 hours. The future was suddenly shrouded in doubt. Hijacked passenger planes crashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and a field in rural Pennsylvania shattered forever the illusion of America as an impregnable fortress immune to organized foreign attack.<\/p>\n

A popular song released in the early aftermath of the 9\/11 attacks expressed a widespread sense that the world had \u201cstopped turning.\u201d The unimaginable was suddenly an inescapable reality. Looking forward seemed futile, even disrespectful of the nearly 3,000 lives taken on that terrible Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/p>\n

Smoke billows from one of the towers of the World Trade Center and flames and debris explode from the second tower, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. In one of the most horrifying attacks ever against the United States, terrorists crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center in a deadly series of blows that brought down the twin 110-story towers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A military helicopter takes off after dropping off personnel at the Pentagon, Sept. 12, 2001, after a terrorist crashed a hijacked airliner into the building the day before. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In this Sept. 16, 2001 file photo, FBI personnel continue excavating the site where United Flight 93 crashed after the jet was hijacked during the 9\/11 terrorist attacks, near Shanksville. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In this Sept. 12, 2001 file photo, firefighters work in the rubble of the World Trade Center towers in New York. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 5<\/p>\n

The twin towers of the World Trade Center burn behind the Empire State Building in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

At sunrise on Friday, Americans looked back on the 25 years since, collectively commemorating America\u2019s darkest day and the aftershocks that still rumble as the world keeps turning.<\/p>\n

On \u2018The Pile\u2019<\/p>\n

A quarter century later, Vicky Castagna still struggles to share what she witnessed working in the ruins of Ground Zero in the days and weeks after the twin towers fell.<\/p>\n

She remembers the pain, shock and rage that radiated from the rubble, but prefers to focus on the unity, humility and resilience she saw rising from the ashes all around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is probably the first year I think I feel ready to talk about it,\u201d she said in an interview at Moscow Fire Department headquarters, where she\u2019s a longtime volunteer. She\u2019s been invited to speak at many 9\/11 memorials over the years, but usually declined. On Friday, the Sterling Twp. retiree agreed to stand up and share her story at a local VFW post and in a letter published in Media News Group newspapers, including The Times-Tribune.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters work beneath the destroyed mullions, the vertical struts which once faced the soaring outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, after a terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"Police<\/p>\n

Police officers rush to help after terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. In a horrific sequence of destruction, terrorists hijacked two airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center in a coordinated series of attacks that brought down the twin 110-story towers. (AP Photo\/Diane Bondareff)\n<\/p>\n

\"Firemen<\/p>\n

Firemen gather on a debris-covered street after the collapse of the twin towers of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

In this Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, firefighters work beneath the destroyed mullions, the vertical struts which once faced the soaring outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, after a terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really trying to focus on the service aspect of it,\u201d she said. \u201cThe tragedy part of it, that\u2019s the part that\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Castagna, 73, remembers watching the World Trade Center being built. In her early career as a probation and parole officer for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, she was a frequent visitor to the twin towers.<\/p>\n

Castagna transferred to an SDNY satellite office in Middletown and moved to Milford in 1992. A social worker by education, she served as an EMT in the Pike County borough and completed extensive training in treating physical and emotional wounds.<\/p>\n

In the blackened wake of 9\/11, it was the latter skills that were needed most. Part of a federal \u201ccritical incident stress management counseling team,\u201d Castagna was frustrated by delays caused by the immensity of the destruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were put on standby in Milford, and I spent two to three weeks real anxious and upset that I wasn\u2019t able to do something,\u201d she said. When she and her team reached Ground Zero in early October, the fires were still burning. The team was assigned to support rescue crews working on \u201cThe Pile,\u201d a 14.6-acre wasteland of debris, dust and ruined steel where the towers once stood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first day we got there was a Sunday,\u201d she said. \u201cWe worked 12-hour shifts. The dogs alerted to a body (in the rubble). The next shift, they were able to uncover the body.<\/p>\n

\u201cI happened to be close to where the body was being exhumed, and the most startling thing for me, standing on The Pile, was everybody stopped. There was not any movement at all. The only thing you heard was the roar of the diesel (equipment) in the background.\u201d<\/p>\n

While grieving the dead was a daily weight, Castagna said being of service to the living lifted her spirits in ways that still echo today.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the great things about my experience down there was the people,\u201d she said. \u201cThey couldn\u2019t say \u2018thank you \u2018 enough. Getting to The Pile and leaving The Pile, the people outside could not do enough to support us.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so for me, I try to focus on that. (Thinking about) people flying out of the towers and the collapses just brings me down. It just hurts. It\u2019s sad and I can\u2019t focus on it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to lose the tragedy of the day, but I certainly don\u2019t want to lose how we came together as people that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

National Guard \u2018transformed\u2019<\/p>\n

On 9\/11, Judah Whitney was a newly minted major in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The 55th Battalion headquarters in Scranton was recently equipped with several televisions so personnel could stay on top of the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my sergeants came and said, \u2018A plane just hit one of the trade centers,\u2019\u201d Whitney said. \u201cI wandered out to where the TV was, and we were watching the trade center, all the smoke coming out of it, and then we saw the second plane hit. We all knew this was not a coincidence. Something was up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A jet crashes into the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, and the twin 110-story towers collapsed Tuesday morning. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"As<\/p>\n

As rescue efforts continue in the rubble of the World Trade Center in New York, then-President Bush stands with firefighter Bob Beckwith on a burnt fire truck in front of the World Trade Center during a tour of the devastation, Friday, Sept. 14, 2001. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In this Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001 file photo, People run from the collapse of one of the twin towers of New York\u2019s World Trade Center. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

A jet crashes into the World Trade Center in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, and the twin 110-story towers collapsed Tuesday morning. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time, Whitney\u2019s late father, famed New York chef Henri-Etienne Levy, lived in Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called him almost immediately and I said, \u2018Something\u2019s going on. You should get out,\u2019\u201d Whitney remembered. \u201cMy dad had lived through World War II as a refugee, and he\u2019d seen some awful things, and he just said, \u2018I\u2019m fine. I\u2019m busy. I gotta go.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then I couldn\u2019t get through to him for days because all the phone lines were down and he didn\u2019t have a cellphone, so, personally, it was scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Military service is a Whitney family tradition. Over a 32-year career in the Guard, Judah, 60, served in several overseas missions, including tours in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Afghanistan. His wife, Maj. Kathleen Quigley Whitney, served in the first Gulf War and other deployments and is now an aeromedical physician assistant with the state Guard. Their daughter, Hannah, was a first lieutenant in the Army. Their son, Nathan, is an Army sergeant.<\/p>\n

Whitney retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2016. He and Kathy live in Covington Twp. Whitney said 9\/11 was the catalyst for a \u201ctransformed\u201d Guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe National Guard was kind of a Moose lodge with heavy artillery,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was pretty bad. There were pockets of excellence, but as a rule, it was not a very good organization. 9\/11 transformed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Older citizen-soldiers who couldn\u2019t meet the physical requirements of combat were phased out. Younger soldiers were pushed forward and gained experience that prepared them for leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat 9\/11 did for the National Guard is it transformed it from a strategic reserve to an operational reserve,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was no longer the third string, it was the second string, but it was a heck of a lot closer to the first string.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Rakkasans\u2019 reunion<\/p>\n

On Friday, retired Lt. Gen. Frank Wiercinski commemorated the 25th anniversary of 9\/11 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with hundreds of fellow \u201cRakkasans.\u201d The nickname, coined during World War II from the Japanese word for \u201cfalling down umbrella men,\u201d aptly describes the legendary 187th Infantry Regiment of the Army\u2019s 101st Airborne Division.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big deal,\u201d the Dickson City native said in a phone interview. \u201cAll our guys are old enough now to say, \u2018Man, it\u2019s been 25 years. That day, 9\/11, changed our lives.\u2019 It absolutely changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wiercinski graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1979 and began a 34-year career in which he earned the third-highest wartime rank in the Army. After the military, Wiercinski, 69, held executive positions with Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and other defense and security companies.<\/p>\n

Fully retired, he lives in Hawaii with Jeannine, his high school sweetheart and wife of nearly 47 years.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

One World Trade Center, center, rises above the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 in New York. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People hold candles during the Brooklyn 9\/11 Wall of Remembrance Candlelight Ceremony in Coney Island on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, in New York. (ANGELINA KATSANIS\/ASSOCIATED PRESS)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 2<\/p>\n

One World Trade Center, center, rises above the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 in New York. (ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

Wiercinski\u2019s experience leading Army Ranger paratroopers in combat in Panama during \u201cOperation Just Cause\u201d to oust dictator Manuel Noriega in 1989 made him a good fit to lead \u201cOperation Anaconda,\u201d the initial American assault in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

It was America\u2019s first official military strike against the Taliban, the Islamic extremist regime that harbored the al-Qaida terrorist network behind 9\/11. The Rakkasans were determined to make a permanent impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody had in their mind revenge or retribution. \u2026 We wanted to get in there and dismantle any potential for anybody ever trying to do this again,\u201d Wiercinski said. \u201cThat was our mindset going in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operation touched off 20 years of American military presence in Afghanistan, much of it while also fighting an insurgency in Iraq. Wiercinski served tours as a commander in both wars. His last deployment was 16 months in Iraq.<\/p>\n

While the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that served as the predicate for the American invasion never materialized, Wiercinski bristles at criticism based on comfortable hindsight. He points out that Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator who used chemical weapons on his own people and threatened to deploy them against the U.S. After 9\/11, he said American leadership had little choice but to take the madman at his word.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis man has already demonstrated the capability of using it \u2014 having it and using it \u2014 and now he has threatened you and told you that he has (WMDs) and he\u2019s going to use them on you,\u201d Wiercinski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would you do? Sit back and say, \u2018Well, you know\u2026\u2019 It\u2019s a hard question. I don\u2019t expect anybody to answer it. I still can\u2019t answer it, but I do know it was a viable threat and it was made by the man himself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mistakes were made in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Wiercinski said the professional, all-volunteer U.S. military achieved its objectives with honor and distinction. Al-Qaida was driven from its safe haven and the people of Iraq were given a chance at self-rule.<\/p>\n

The wars also sent a clear message to America\u2019s enemies in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll fix everything we broke, but then we\u2019re going home,\u201d Wiercinski said. \u201cYou have a chance to start fresh. We\u2019re going to help you start fresh, but if you screw it up again and they come out of here again and we can prove it, we\u2019re coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wiercinski said bringing back all of the soldiers he led into Operation Anaconda alive was the greatest victory of his storied career.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t pin a medal on me or some kind of accolade or testimonial or anything better than going into Anaconda with 1,411 soldiers, being in direct combat for two weeks and bringing home 1,411 soldiers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s miraculous. \u2026 That\u2019s the greatest gift I ever received.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Good Morning America\u2019<\/p>\n

The first hours of the \u201cGood Morning America\u201d broadcast on Sept. 11, 2001, offered viewers typical programming: It was the beginning of Fashion Week in Manhattan; Michael Jordan was considering a return to the NBA; a \u201cnew break\u201d was made in the cold case of missing labor leader Jimmy Hoffa; and President George W. Bush was in Florida to kick off Education Week by reading a children\u2019s book, \u201cThe Pet Goat,\u201d to a class of elementary school students.<\/p>\n

A recently slimmed down Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, was giving an interview about her endorsement deal with Weight Watchers at 8:46 a.m. when American Airlines Flight 11 \u2014 with 76 passengers, 11 crew members and five hijackers on board \u2014 struck the north tower.<\/p>\n

At 9:03, United Airlines Flight 175 \u2014 carrying 51 passengers, nine crew members and five hijackers \u2014 struck the south tower. Last week, students in a University of Scranton classroom watched it all happen \u201clive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course, \u201cSept. 11 & Beyond,\u201d developed by Department of Political Science Professor and Chair Mike Allison, Ph.D., is designed to help today\u2019s students relate to a historic tragedy that happened before they were born.<\/p>\n

Professor Gretchen Van Dyke, Ph. D., is teaching the course this semester. A New York native, Allison usually begins with the decades of complicated history that preceded 9\/11. Van Dyke starts with the day and works back to its gnarled roots.<\/p>\n

Watching the news coverage as 9\/11 unfolded offers students an immersive opportunity to connect with the emotions of Americans who watched as it happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say it does have a bit of, like, almost a mythical quality for us, because we\u2019ve heard so much about it,\u201d said Jack Foley, a 22-year-old senior majoring in political science.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was growing up, every year on 9\/11, our classroom would have a whole lesson dedicated to it, but it wasn\u2019t something that we ever had a first-person perspective of knowing. It was always someone else telling us about it. And there\u2019s a lot of gravity to that, but not the same, I think, as if we had experienced it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what it was like to experience the day\u2019s news coverage 25 years later, Foley shrugged.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s history,\u201d he said. \u201cI understand it\u2019s jarring for people who went through it, but for us, I think of it as history.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Dyke and Allison are diligent in pointing out current concerns rooted in changes that came in the wake of 9\/11. Flock cameras, the controversial surveillance network inspiring civil rights protests across the nation, can be traced back to the Patriot Act. The Department of Homeland Security was also created in response to the attacks. The war in Iran is evidence that America\u2019s relationship with the Middle East remains fraught with pitfalls.<\/p>\n

Van Dyke, 64, and Allison, 52, lived through 9\/11 and are dedicated to teaching every aspect of the tragedy, including personal reactions that are troubling in retrospect.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember I was not a very good person after the attacks, watching them take place and wanting revenge or violence, which was awful, particularly because I lived with a Muslim guy from Turkey,\u201d Allison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was friends with a lot of Muslim people who felt the ire of people in our country, the distrust. It was awful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van Dyke remembered teaching a class on the Thursday after the attacks. A student suggested \u201cnuking\u201d Afghanistan \u201cback to the Stone Age.\u201d Another student rebuked him.<\/p>\n

Van Dyke explained that Afghanistan was one of the poorest, most oppressive countries on Earth. Another student was upset by Van Dyke\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was frustrated with me. She was frustrated with the class, and she said, \u2018Dr. Van Dyke, what would you tell the people who jumped out of the buildings?\u2019 I\u2019ll never forget what I said to her and to the class. I said, \u2018I would tell people two things. I would say that we have to figure out who committed these crimes, and we have to bring them to justice.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s a difference between justice and retribution. We don\u2019t want to go the retribution route. We want justice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What followed after that class is history.<\/p>\n

Still falling<\/p>\n

A quarter century later, the 9\/11 attacks are still claiming American lives. According to the World Trade Center Health Program, more than 9,000 survivors and first responders have died from illnesses related to their work at Ground Zero. On 9\/11, 343 New York Fire Department personnel lost their lives. More than 600 died of related causes over the 25 years since.<\/p>\n

Vicky Castagna undergoes yearly testing for long-term impacts of her time working on \u201cThe Pile.\u201d So far, she is healthy and doesn\u2019t dwell on the potential long-term effects of her exposure. Castagna feels blessed to have been of service when her fellow Americans needed her most.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think my experience at Ground Zero broadened my sense of what it means to help,\u201d she said. \u201cI was in my niche. I was there when it mattered. It still does.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contact the writer: ckelly@scrantontimes.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At sunset on Sept. 11, 2001, Americans were too shaken by the day\u2019s cascade of horrors to contemplate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[267,9,24,55,54,12,56],"class_list":["post-345547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-local-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-news","tag-ny"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}