SALT LAKE CITY — Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the memory remains sharp for those who lived through it. But as the anniversary grows more distant, the lessons can blur — even as acts of individual sacrifice endure.
Army veteran Marc Halliday served for more than 24 years, including in military intelligence on the day of the attacks.
"I was serving in the military intelligence at that time, active duty, and my day got very busy," Halliday said.
Halliday also spent about 20 years as a firefighter and said the losses from that day are personal.
25 years after 9/11 terror attacks, Utahns climb to honor the lives lost:
"We need to realize what freedom means. I mean, I get emotional on this. Sorry, but I lost a lot of good friends," Halliday said.
"We need to get back to bonding humanity together. It's not about one side or the other. It's not about right or wrong. It's about what we do as people of this great nation," Halliday said.
In Bountiful, Mayor Kate Bradshaw began the morning alongside local first responders, honoring the 343 firefighters who died in New York on Sept. 11, 2001.
"343 firefighters died in New York as part of that awful event. And so our firefighters were paying tribute to their comrades," Bradshaw said.
Bradshaw was 20 years old on Sept. 11, 2001. Now, as mayor, the weight of that day carries new meaning.
"When I hear sirens in my city, I get a little pit in my stomach. I'm always worried about my people. I'm worried about my residents, but I'm worried about the people who rush to danger," Bradshaw said.
Kaysville woman reflects on family lost 25 years after Sept. 11:
Gov. Spencer Cox said the images and emotions of that morning are still vivid, and he called on Utahns to find common ground in the spirit of the day.
"You do not have to vote the same way, believe the same things, or agree on every issue to pack meals together, to help a neighbor together, or solve a problem together. And that experience can change the way that we see one another," Cox said.
"It reminds us that the people we disagree with are still our neighbors, our coworkers, and our fellow Americans," Cox said.
The Utah National Guard organized flyovers of high school football stadiums Friday night as part of an event called Friday Night Flights.
