25 years later, Sparta remembers Sept. 1

Twenty-five years later, there are still moments from Sept. 11, 2001, that need no explanation for those who lived through them.

Where you were. What you were doing. Who told you. The images that followed.

Sparta paused Friday morning to remember those moments, and the thousands of lives lost, during a Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony marking what is officially recognized as Patriot Day.

White County Executive Kyle Goff, Mayor Jerry Lowery, Vice Mayor Bobby Officer, Mark Johnson with the American Legion, and Amos Rogan with Life Church each spoke during the ceremony, looking back at the events that unfolded that morning, but also at what followed.

They remembered the first responders who ran toward danger, the ordinary people who became heroes, and the sense of unity that swept across the country in the days after the attacks.

Their message Friday morning was also directed toward the future: Don't let that history fade as the number of Americans who remember Sept. 11 firsthand grows smaller.

Remember the lives lost. Remember the heroism. Remember the way Americans came together. And tell those stories to generations who weren't there to witness them.

Sept. 11 changed the American landscape, both physically and emotionally. For those who lived through it, there will always be a before and an after.

Twenty-five years later, Sparta gathered to make sure there is also a remembrance.