On Thursday morning at 9:03 a.m. โ the time the South Tower of the World Trade Center was struck by a plane 24 years ago โ first responders and community members came together at Bozeman Public Safety Center to honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. โItโs a day to remember those who have served their communities and their country in the past and to thank them for their service,โ said Chief Jim Veltkamp of Bozeman Police Department.
โI really hope we donโt ever forget the sacrifice on that day,โ said Chief Jason Kolman on Bozeman Fire Department. โOf the nearly 3,000 that died, 411 were first responders, 2 were Montanans, who were on American Airlines flight 77, which flew into The Pentagon,โ John Durnal, a spokesperson for Senator Steve Daines.
MTN also spoke with two veterans, who vividly recall where they were when the attacks happened.
โI was sitting in an airplane at Gallatin Field, waiting to take off,โ said Steve Holland, a veteran and American Legion member. โWe knew something very serious had happened, and we were back in the terminal in time to watch the second airplane hit the tower.โ โI was actually on active duty in the Marine Corps at the time. I was stationed in Camp Pendleton and I was in my 19th year and I was on the pistol range. I needed to get a qualification score, so that I could submit my retirement package,โ said Dan Ritter, a veteran and member of the board of directors for the American Legion post in Bozeman.
