MD Eastern Shore state senators reflect on 9/11 25-year anniversary
Salisbury, Md. – Friday marked the 25-year anniversary of 9/11. Maryland state legislators who were in the nation’s capital at the time of the attacks are reflecting on what the day means to them.
Sen. Johnny Mautz (R-District 37) was in Washington D.C. when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, killing 184 people. Mautz said he was forever changed working on Capitol Hill exactly 25 years ago.
“I could see the Pentagon burn. I had friends in the towers. I had friends that were responding. It was a surreal moment,” he said in an interview with WMDT. “I stood on Independence Avenue with thousands of other people waiting for a plane to crash into the Capitol. It was something that I could tell a lot of stories about. It was unreal.”
Mautz said the day marked a shift for him and every other American, saying “we have not been the same since.”
“It was a point in which our world changed forever,” he said. However, he said the day also marked a remarkable moment of unity.
“It was also a time when the country came together. Everyone flew away with the flag. You know, we all cried together. You know, it was a very very tough experience, and to think it’s 25 years is really hard to believe,” he said. “Our lives continue to be affected by what happened on 9/11 every day.”
However, Mautz said the stories out of “that fateful morning” continue not only to impact, but to inspire.
“The stories of bravery, the leaders, the American spirit shown in so many different ways that they affected everyone. It affected an entire world. It wasn’t just our country; it was the entire world, and it’s just hard to believe that it’s been 25 years,” he said.
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza (R-District 38) was at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001 and said that, though the day brought tragedy, it also inspired resolve.
“Close to 3,000 people died in those terrorist attacks that day, and we think about those who lost their lives, their families, all of the first responders, the firefighters, law enforcement, but then all the other heroes who stepped up that day as well,” she said. “Let’s continue to tell the stories and to honor not only those who lost their lives, but as an incentive to continue to encourage our first responders and others to take the responsibility and protect our American way of life.”
Mautz said he would attend a memorial service in Talbot County honoring the lives lost on 9/11.
“It’s a very somber, sentimental moment for me, and just to remember and appreciate all the things that happened that day,” he said.
Carozza observed the day at a 9/11 memorial service held in Salisbury.
