Colonial Hills Honors First Responders

Memories of hijacked commercial airplanes crashing into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and passengers fighting back to down another plane in Pennsylvania—the images of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 come readily to Americans.

With the 10th anniversary of that terrible day Sunday, paid tribute to the daily sacrifices of area public safety officials for the ninth consecutive year with a free luncheon Friday afternoon.

The event attracted about 70 public safety employees, who were served Kentucky Fried Chicken, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and pasta salads. Middle-schoolers provided the desserts: cookies, cakes, brownies, cupcakes and chocolate-covered strawberries.

The event was organized by the school’s Student Government Association.

“This is awesome because they think about public safety and have one big day for it,” Douglas County Fire Department training officer Stacie Farmer said. “This would take a lot of planning of something this size. They’re always nice, and the food is really good.”

Students Show Appreciation

In addition to the food, Colonial Hills students created posters, notes and thank you cards. Students emailed and hand delivered the special luncheon invitations to nearby fire and police stations, and emergency medical service locations.

“It’s cool to serve the people who serve us,” Colonial Hills senior Chanda Bell said. “Both my grandfathers were police officers and my cousin is in the Marines serving in Afghanistan. I think (these public safety workers) realized there are people out there that care about what they do for our local community and nation.”

Colonial Hills English teacher Rebecca Vincent said the students were enthusiastic about the luncheon. The now annual tradition was started the year after the attacks by a former teacher, the late Peggy Smith, who was the wife of former headmaster Wes Smith.

“They’re very committed, happy and it gives off a sense that they really appreciate the efforts of our public servants,” Vincent said of the school's students. “Some of them have been on their feet all day helping and there’s been no complaining—a servant’s heart. We really instill in them that to be a leader, you have to be willing to serve.”

When Douglas County Fire Lt. Mark Wardlaw first heard about the terrorism attacks on that sunny Tuesday morning in 2001, he recalled feeling a range of emotions.

“You go through that anger,” said Wardlaw, a 28-year firefighter. “I felt bad all day for all those people. We were able to go on with our lives that day and work, but that city, New York, they were just at a standstill.”

Event Brings Back Sadness

The first enemy attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbor, 9/11 claimed 2,975 lives total in the four separate attacks.

“It makes me sad that almost everyone in the buildings died or were affected in some way,” he said. “You have all the innocent people who showed up to work and especially the firefighters since that’s where I work. They went into work that morning just as I do and they didn’t return."

“I couldn’t imagine what they went through because of the mass casualties they saw,” he continued. “What we see with car wrecks is bad enough, but to see that mass casualty that they had to deal with was probably overwhelming.”

Douglas County firefighter Robert Aslinger was a 16-year-old sophomore at at the time of the attacks. He described the day as the “worst day I could probably remember.”

“School pretty much just stopped,” he said. “We were sitting and watching the TV when the second plane hit. There were two friends of mine that were in ROTC that said, ‘That was an act of war!’ "

He added: "We had parents checking kids out of school because we didn’t know how far this would be taken. Even though we were in Georgia, we didn’t know how far the attack would spread. We didn’t know what was going to happen; even public schools were potential targets.”

Aslinger said his mother and grandmother previously worked as nurses and saw firefighters at the site of the destroyed 110-story Twin Towers, digging with their hands to find their firefighting "brothers."

That inspired him to train hard to become a firefighter. He has worked five years for the Douglas County Fire Department.

“The firefighters, police officers and EMS workers were there before the tragedy and doing the same job that they are doing now,” Aslinger said. "I hate that it takes a tragedy for people to recognize what is done every day."

“As corny and cliché as it sounds," he added, "here in Douglas County we’re only 160 and we consider everyone family. Those guys up there, FDNY, they’re a few thousand and they were digging and that just really motivated me to do something in life that meant something. From that day forward, I made up my mind that that was something I wanted to do. I went through firefighter school and never looked back.”

Colonial Hills Christian senior Crystal Deas heard about the events of Sept. 11 after landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with her family following a flight from Costa Rica.

“The only thing I remember is people running around screaming and crying because they wouldn’t let us leave the airport,” said Deas, who was a second grader at the time of the attacks. “I remember asking my mom, 'What’s going on?' and she said to watch the TV. I remember asking my dad if they were going to come and get us because I was scared. My dad said I was safe and I started to pray for the people involved.”

Anniversary Creates Insight

Courtney Eubanks, a 2006 Colonial Hills graduate and secretary for the Douglas County Fire Department, said the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 has brought back a lot of memories and has created a new perspective.

“You realize how far the country has come since that day,” she said. “We’re now more aware that terrorism happens in our country, not just in foreign countries.”

Aslinger has also gained new insight into America’s resolve following the four separate attacks by 19 Islamic militant terrorists who hijacked the fuel-laden transcontinental passenger jets. But he also believes that America, in many ways, has lost its way since the galvanizing event.

“The nation as a whole changed as a result of 9/11,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s for better or worse. For at least a couple of years afterwards it strengthened it, but I think now our country is on the back slope. We’re just kind of falling apart as a country—the wars and the economy. It’s almost sad to say that we need tragedies to see what we have. You don’t appreciate the freedom we have until it’s taken away or threatened.”