Twenty Five Years Later, an Aurora Veteran's 9/11 Reflection

By Jared Hostetler Twenty five years ago today, I sat in my second period English class, a junior at Cardinal High School in Middlefield as a reasonably carefree 17-year-old. I will never forget our Dean of Students coming in telling our teacher to turn the news on. We did just in time to see United 175 crash into the South Tower of the World Trade Center, and a room full of students watched several hundred people die right before our eyes. It wouldn't be the last people who we would watch die that day, and they weren't the last I've seen die since. I was a student pilot at the time and remember thinking how could an airline pilot miss such a big building? Little did I know that overhead my small hometown, United 93 was being hijacked, and that ordinary citizens were about to sacrifice themselves to save others they would never meet. Later in life I would serve with an Air Force Officer who, despite his care free demeanor, spent that day pulling friends out of a burning Pentagon. That day was confusing for the young man that I was, but I knew it was my generations moment to step into the breach. Fast forward 24 years to August of 2025. After time as an Air Force Officer, lost comrades, and a close friend who lost his battle with his demons, I brought my then seven year old twins to New York City. We decided to take them to the 9/11 Memorial, though we did not go into the museum as I'm not ready to see it. As we approached the site of the towers, I explained to them there used to be two towers a thousand feet tall here. Evil men had flown planes like the ones that brought us from home to this city into them, and they had fallen with almost 3,000 people inside. We picked a random panel at the South Tower site and my daughter read out "Ladder 4" and asked what it meant. I explained that it was a firetruck that responded on the day the towers were struck and names listed below were the firefighters who died trying to get people out of the building when it fell. My son, in the way only a seven-year-old can ask, asked me if they knew when they went in that they might die? After getting myself together I simply told him that some people are called to serve others, even if it means they might die. Since then, my kids and I have talked about their great-grandfathers who served in Army and Army Air Core, their uncle who served in the Navy, and they've met men and women I served with. My goal is for my children to understand that when others need you, you run toward the danger, not away. The world needs those who answer the call, and 25 years ago today we saw so many examples of service it nearly breaks me to think about. The 17 year old I was didn't understand what I was watching then. The 42-year-old Veteran and father of two knows it was extreme service, and humans responding to crisis with one thought: "how to serve those who need me right now?" For many, it meant years of physical and emotional pain. For many others, it meant the last full measure of devotion to someone else, and their lives. How many lives of strangers did the passengers of Flight 93 save? How many lives did the members of Ladder 4 of the FDNY save? How many children got to grow up with loved ones, because someone else gave up their future with theirs? Today as you look back on that day, it's ok to mourn, to grieve the immense lose. But to honor those we lost that day, and especially those who gave themselves in the service of others, I challenge you to serve as well. I'm not asking you to run into a collapsing tower, or volunteer for the military. But I am asking you to find your own way to serve our community. Volunteer for that organization you know needs help. Call a friend you know needs some support. Say hello to the stranger on the street because you never know what a simple act of kindness might do. Find a way to give of yourself. If we do that, evil doesn't win. If you are a veteran in Aurora looking to connect with other veterans to rally around things that matter, reach out to me at jared.hostetler.1@gmail.com Jared Hostetler Vice Commander Aurora American Legion Post 803