Yesterday marked 23 years since the September 11, 2001 attack. This attack changed the nation forever, killing over 3,000 people, destroying the Twin Towers, and damaging the E ring first deck level of the Pentagon. People’s lives across the country were affected by this attack and they continue to share their stories. 

 “It was a gorgeous day I was in the army for almost exactly a year and still a private,” Todd Carpenter said. “As soon as it happened we recalled all the people on Fort Bragg and guarded every road intersection on that base. We were outside training and enjoying life and then all of a sudden the world shut down that day. ” 

The public display of this attack changed the way our government worked for some, Carpenter being one. 

“That first couple of years in the Army was characterized by not doing a whole lot and then it immediately changed to where I was expected [to be a] year off and year on deployment after the effects of September 11th,” Carpenter said. “It changed everything, we went from not having a Department of Homeland Security to having it be one of the largest portions of our national government, which was a direct reaction to the attack to protect America domestically.” 

To protect America and its citizens they first started with implementing security in airports.

“When I was a child traveling or getting on an airplane, you would get to the airport, walk directly to your terminal, and get on your aircraft after your ticket was scanned,” Carpenter said. “There were no security checks or anything of that sort. This being reactionary made the world extremely inconvenient for years afterward. We are just now getting to the newer generations where all you know is this form of security and order.”

Many born before the attack now saw the world as a harder place to live in, but for most, it’s normalized. The world has been forever changed, but the day will always remembered.