Remembering the day that changed us all

9/11’s impact still felt 20 years after the attacks

By Jacob Pasquale | For Manor Ink

Livingston Manor, NY – This September 11 will be the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, known commonly as 9/11. Although it happened two decades ago, it still impacts our lives today, and it’s important to remember the many lives lost that day.

Livingston Manor native and retired New York state trooper Kevin Miller shared with Manor Ink his experience on the day of the attack and the days following it.

At the time, he was a state trooper assigned to the Newburgh Barracks. While he was patrolling the Newburgh and New Windsor area on the day of 9/11, he heard on a local radio program that a plane had crashed into one of the two towers at the World Trade Center.

“It was hard to fathom at first, but when I heard that a second plane had hit the second tower, I knew we were under attack,” recalled Miller.

He then returned to the barracks and was instructed to respond to Orange County’s Stewart International Airport to secure and check unattended baggage, as well as investigate any suspicious activity. Afterwards, he volunteered to report to the site of the Manhattan attack, which he did later that week. His task there was to assist with site security, including searching vehicles, helping with traffic control and performing basic public safety functions.

Memories of Ground Zero

“As devastating as the events on 9/11 were, it was amazing to see the cooperation of the public and first responders, the camaraderie between departments, and to see the progress being made at Ground Zero,” states Miller, referring to the site of the former World Trade Center towers.

Miller’s most vivid memory from his time at Ground Zero was the smell of burning materials emanating from “the pile.”

“It was hard to describe the smell, but it must have been a combination of many burning materials,” he said. “The smell was in the air for many weeks and most of us did not have adequate masks for protection.”

Many of his colleagues have since become ill and have even passed away due to their work at Ground Zero. This is something he thinks about often and has his health monitored for related illnesses.

“It is important to remember all the lives that were lost, and the lives that continue to be affected today,” Miller expresses.

Lives are certainly being affected today. Not just those of first responders and those who lost family members, but the lives of all Americans. 9/11 led to many issues concerning privacy, or the lack thereof, that are still part of life today.

Prior to 9/11, organizations such as the National Security Agency needed very specific reasons to gather information on individuals. However, after 9/11, they began surveilling all Americans.

Issues of privacy after 9/11

Author Spencer Ackerman said in a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” podcast, “All of a sudden, the NSA decides to collect all of that [information]. They collect it, not with any individual suspicion, but in bulk. They collect it, not pursuant to any judicial authority, but unilaterally.”

The definition of privacy, as most Americans understood it, has greatly shifted due to 9/11-related policies, such as the Patriot Act. Whereas privacy had been heavily protected, it is now more loosely defined in an effort to prevent another terrorist attack. Of course, 9/11 is not the only cause of this shift. Smart phones and social media have also played a part in facilitating intrusions into privacy, but the attacks twenty years ago remain a major factor behind the change in the understanding of privacy.

We are still living in a world drastically changed by 9/11. Mass surveillance, drone strikes, and the war on terror are all realities seen today that are results of the events of that day. The effects of 9/11 are seen all around the country and the world 20 years later, and they will continue to be seen in years to come.