There are certain days people remember not because they want to, but because they cannot forget.
Sept. 11, 2001, is one of those days.
Twenty-five years later, the attacks that changed America are becoming history for an entire generation. Many of today’s high school students were not yet born when the World Trade Center towers fell, the Pentagon was attacked and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.
But in Iowa County, as in communities across Southwest Wisconsin, the effects of that day reached far beyond the television images from
New York and Washington.
The attacks changed the way Americans looked at the world. They changed the way we traveled, the way we thought about security and, perhaps most importantly, the way many communities viewed military service and the people who volunteered to protect the country.
A long way from New York – but not untouched Iowa County is a long way from New York City.
The farms, businesses, schools and communities of Southwest Wisconsin seemed about as far removed from the tragedy as one could imagine.
Yet on the morning of Sept. 11, the distance seemed to disappear.
Televisions were turned on in homes, businesses and classrooms. Parents worried about their children. Employees stopped what they were doing to watch the unfolding news. Students saw teachers trying to explain something that, at the time, was difficult even for adults to understand.
For many residents, the question remains as familiar today as it was 25 years ago:
Where were you when you heard?
The answers are as varied as the people of Iowa County.
Some were at work. Some were getting children ready for school. Some were in classrooms. Others were listening to the radio in a pickup truck or tractor.
But almost everyone remembers the feeling.
Something had happened to America.
And nobody knew what would happen next.
The consequences of 9/11 did not end when the television coverage eventually faded.
Wisconsin’s military forces became heavily involved in the nation’s response. The Wisconsin National Guard has deployed around the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism and other operations since 9/11. For communities such as those throughout Iowa County, that meant the national response could become personal.
A neighbor might enlist. A son or daughter might be deployed. A friend might leave for military service. A family might spend months waiting for a loved one to return home.
Wisconsin’s 9/11 Memorial notes that thousands of Wisconsin military citizens were called to duty following the attacks, while thousands more enlisted to serve in the fight against terrorism.
That service was not simply a story from Washington or Madison. It was a story being lived in Wisconsin communities.
A new appreciation for those who serve
Another lasting impact of 9/11 was a renewed appreciation for first responders and military personnel.
In a rural community, the people who serve as firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical responders are often people we know personally.
They are our neighbors. They coach our children’s teams. They attend our churches. They own businesses. They are members of our community.
The images of firefighters and police officers running toward danger on Sept. 11 gave Americans a new appreciation for the risks those people accept every day.
That appreciation remains especially relevant in Iowa County, where emergency responders continue to answer calls regardless of the time, weather or circumstances.
The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office, for example, continues to provide law enforcement, emergency communications, corrections, patrol and investigative services to county residents.
Veterans carried another part of the story
For Iowa County veterans, the years following 9/11 added another chapter to a long history of military service.
The Iowa County Veterans Service Office has served local veterans since 1946 and continues to assist veterans who served in the Armed Forces, including members of the National Guard and Reserves. Those veterans understand something that can sometimes be difficult for others to appreciate.
When a nation goes to war, the consequences do not stay on a battlefield. They come home with the people who served. They affect spouses, parents, children, employers and communities.
In the years after 9/11, communities throughout Southwest Wisconsin watched young people leave for military service and later return home carrying experiences that their friends and neighbors could only imagine.
Schools have a new responsibility
Perhaps one of the greatest challenges surrounding the 25th anniversary is making sure young people understand what Sept. 11 means.
For a student who is 17 or 18 today, 9/11 is something that happened before he or she was born. It is no longer a personal memory. It is history. That places a responsibility on parents, grandparents, teachers, veterans and community leaders to tell the story. Not simply the story of the buildings. Not simply the story of terrorism. But the story of the people.
-The firefighters. -The police officers.
-The passengers who fought back. -The military personnel who served afterward.
-The families who waited.
And the ordinary Americans who suddenly found themselves living in a very different country.
Wisconsin’s 9/11 Memorial and Education Center specifically provides educational resources designed to help future generations understand the attacks and their lasting impact.
Remembering without living in fear
There is another lesson from 9/11 that is particularly important 25 years later.
America cannot spend its future living in fear of its past. Remembering does not mean being afraid. It means understanding. It means recognizing the courage displayed by ordinary people during an extraordinary crisi It means appreciating those who volunteered to serve It means respecting the sacrifices made by military families. And it means remembering that communities often become strongest when people put aside differences and help one another.
For a brief period after Sept. 11, Americans seemed to rediscover something that can be easy to lose sight of in ordinary times.
We were Americans first. Flags appeared everywhere. People checked on neighbors. Churches filled.
First responders were celebrated. Military service received a new level of respect.
And communities came together. Iowa County remembers There will be ceremonies and moments of remembrance around Wisconsin this year as the nation marks the 25th anniversary.
The Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial and Education Center in Kewaskum is holding a special remembrance event on Sept. 11, 2026, honoring victims, first responders, military personnel and everyone whose lives were changed by the attacks.
But remembrance does not have to take place at a large memorial. It can happen in a classroom. At a veterans’ gathering. At a fire station. At a church. At a ballgame. Or simply around the kitchen table when a grandparent tells a child where he or she was that morning.
For Iowa County, remembering 9/11 means remembering that even a tragedy that happened hundreds of miles away became part of the history of our own communities.
It became part of the stories of our veterans. It became part of the experiences of military families. It changed the work of first responders. It changed our schools. It changed the way we traveled and thought about security. And it changed a generation.
Twenty-five years later, perhaps the most important thing we can do is tell the story accurately and honestly – and make sure the next generation understands why we still remember.
Because Sept. 11 is no longer only about what happened that morning. -It is also about what America did afterward.
And here in Iowa County, that story includes neighbors who served, families who sacrificed, first responders who continued to answer the call and communities that learned, once again, that when difficult times arrive, we are stronger when we face them together.