Reflections on Sept. 11 shared at Mahoning Valley’s ceremony

Speakers at memorial park stress need to remember terror attacks on nation

AUSTINTOWN -- The choir members who sang the national anthem and "God Bless the USA" were made up of students who have no memory of Sept. 11, 2001. They've simply grown up in a country that has been shaped by it for 25 years.

The guest speaker at the annual Mahoning Valley 9/11 Memorial Ceremony in Austintown on Friday said it is up to those who do remember to help those children understand why they live in that world and their responsibilities as Americans because of it.

"Today, 25 years later, our children and grandchildren are growing up in a world where Sept. 11th is becoming something they learn about in a textbook. And that makes remembering even more important," said former Army Staff Sgt. Arielle McNutt.

A Youngstown native who served 13 years in the Army, McNutt now works as a management analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

She said she was a senior at Youngstown Christian School when she watched the second plane strike the south tower of the World Trade Center. A quarter-century later, she stood before veterans, local government officials, residents and students to share her memories of that day.

McNutt said she was in the school's chapel that morning when a teacher announced that a plane had struck one of the towers. Students were dismissed to their first class. For McNutt, that was English.

But there was no discussion of verbs, adverbs and adjectives that day, as students and teachers alike gathered around the TV just before the second plane struck the south tower at 9:03 a.m.

When the school released students early, McNutt said she walked home, and she can still recall the "eerie" feeling in the air.

"Everything was different. The streets felt quieter. People were watching their televisions. People were calling their families," she said.

McNutt said she has taken her children to all four major Sept. 11 memorial sites because they only know the attacks as history and not as lived experience.

"When I take my children to these memorials, I want them to see the names. I want them to understand that every name represents a person. Not a number. Not a statistic. A person."

She said everyone should remember that each victim had a family, friends, dreams and plans for the following day.

McNutt said 9/11 is not the only important day to remember, though. She said Sept. 12 and the days that followed are just as important.

She recalled flags appearing on homes, vehicles and businesses; strangers helping strangers; blood donation lines; and Americans setting aside their differences.

"For a period of time, the things that divided us seemed so much smaller than the things that united us," she said. "We were Americans. We were hurting together. We were grieving together. We were standing together."

McNutt said remembrance should not drive fear or hatred, but preserve history, honor the dead and recall those who responded with courage and compassion.

"Remembering isn't about living in the past. Remembering is how we make sure the past continues to teach us," she said.

Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti, like most every American who lived through the attacks, also recalls exactly where he was.

Traficanti said he arrived at the district office of then-U.S. Rep. Jim Traficant when a colleague urgently called him over to the TV. He said he first thought the strike was a terrible accident. After the second plane hit, his congressional-office computer went blank and displayed a seal with the warning: "America's in danger, please call Washington."

"I knew at that time, after that attack, we would never, ever be the same," he said.

Traficanti was tasked on Friday with explaining the significance of the Austintown 9/11 Memorial Park's features.

He credited the late Patrick Connelly with envisioning the Austintown memorial and traveling with Sam Swoger to New York, Shanksville and the Pentagon to obtain the artifacts displayed at the park.

The most notable features are two steel beams from one of the Twin Towers. Along with those, the park includes an urn containing soil from the Flight 93 crash site in Shanksville, sandstone blocks from the Pentagon, trees honoring the Flight 93 passengers, a gazebo shaped like the Pentagon and Ray Simon artwork honoring firefighters, police and Flight 93.

There is also a nondenominational chapel and plans are underway for a walk-through museum on the property.

"What you see today is the vision of Pat Connelly," Traficanti said.

Connelly died in 2021, and Swoger said he is doing everything he can, including defying his age and doctor's orders to keep his promise to Connelly that the park will be maintained.

"This is Pat's place, I'm just the caretaker of it," Swoger said.

He said Connelly was constantly at the park, tending to it, even to the detriment of his own health. Swoger said he's following in his friend's footsteps.

"I used to get on Mr. Connelly about getting sent to the hospital," he said. "Well, I've been there probably three or four times for dehydration, other things, 'cause I'm kinda stupid, too."

The morning's ceremony included readings of "The Firefighter's Prayer" and "The Police Officer's Prayer" by representatives of the Austintown police and fire departments, a 21-gun salute from the Youngstown Police Department Honor Guard, the playing of taps by Austintown Fitch High School Orchestra member Rachel Snyder, and opening and closing prayers by The Rev. John Welch of St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic Church.

As always, the Austintown Fitch Concert Choir was on hand. The choir that has performed at veterans hospitals across the country for 54 years offered two selections, including a rendition of Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the USA" during which they left their dais and circulated through the crowd, shaking the hands of every service member they met.