Eagle to mark 20 years since 9/11
“Under Attack” screamed the headline of the Butler Eagle editions following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with the first coverage of the assaults on the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, and downing of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville as passengers attempted to thwart a strike at the White House.
On Sept. 12, 2001, the banner proclaimed “Ghastly Toll” as the details on the assault on America continued to emerge with the search for survivors and Flight 93 passengers' desperate calls to loved ones.
While those historic front pages documenting the three-prong attack froze the moments, 20 years has not dimmed the horror for Butler County residents who lived through a foreign attack on American soil on 9/11.
They remember where they were watching the events unfold and will share those moments with Butler Eagle readers in Sunday's anniversary edition.
Several residents recall being near the scene of the attacks: A northern Butler County woman happened to be in New York, planning to tour the World Trade Center towers. Another resident, a pastor, was on his way home from a business meeting and stopped at the crash site at Shanksville.
Most, however, were doing ordinary, everyday chores that are now etched in their memories.
Sunday's anniversary coverage will include a look at those historic front pages; an article on the impact of the 9/11 memorial in Cranberry Township, which has a piece of steel from the World Trade Center; and a tribute to the two county residents who died fighting the global war on terror in Afghanistan.
Also planned is coverage of two ceremonies slated in county schools for students, all born after Sept. 11, 2001, who are learning about the magnitude of the attacks and how they changed America.
