Troy professors recount 9/11 experiences

Troy students eagerly gathered last Thursday to listen to Troy professors recount their 9/11 experiences and where they were on that day 24 years ago.  

Sorrell College of Business Professor of Practice and Director of Sorrell Center for Corporate and Community Collaboration Stan Blankenship spoke to students about his experience. 

Blankenship spoke alongside Dr. Duane Gunn, director of operations and lecturer for the leadership institute, and Dr. Chris Shannon, adjunct professor for the leadership institute.  

“I really appreciated the fact that we had such a good turnout,” Blankenship said. “With the number of students, it really was a meaningful event. 

“We just happened to be three guys that, may have been fortunately but unfortunately part of it and now can share the story of what we saw.” 

Blankenship was in New York City when the planes struck the twin towers. He shared some of the things he witnessed up close as it happened.    

“New York was like the walking dead,” Blankenship said. “I was physically there watching the Twin Towers fall, seeing all the dust and experiencing the smell of the jet fuel.  

“I'd never heard New York so quiet after an event. There were no vehicles on the streets, people weren’t talking, and it was like zombies were everywhere.  

I think everyone was in such shock that we really did see what we just saw.” 

Blankenship wanted to emphasize this one message to students who attended the event.  

“Evil does exist, but if we can be proactive and try to overcome evil by learning to love a little bit, that’s honestly the message because we’ll face it again tomorrow,” Blankenship said.  

“There have been plenty of those events in the past, and there’ll be plenty in the future, so we really need to be a caring society. 

“We can have discourse and different beliefs, but as long as we’re having dialogue, it’ll make it better instead of us against them.”  

Blankenship emphasized the impact that our history has on our current generation and all generations to come.  

“We lost President Kennedy, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy all within a five-year period, and we were all worried about where this world is going,” Blankenship said.  

“Things get better, then you have events like this, so the cycle will continue to repeat.  

“We as individuals need to be as kind as we can to one another. If we can do that, that ought to lower the temperature a little bit and allow us to be more cohesive.  

All of us have our own stories, and this was a story I'll never forget as long as I live.” 

Alexis Billingsley, a freshman business marketing major from Bibb County, Alabama, attended the presentation and shared how the event impacted her.  

“It was very nice just to sit there and listen to these three men who actually experienced it,” Billingsley said. “I sat there like I couldn’t believe these people are actually sitting here telling me their story, their perspective and how it made them and their families feel.” 

Billingsley shared why we should continue to remember and honor those lost on 9/11, even 24 years later.  

“It’s a very important part of our American history,” Billingsley said. “Like they said, it could happen again years later, but we could be more prepared for it than we were 24 years ago. 

“Everyone should remember it, embrace it, celebrate it, be sad about it, but be happy that it happened so we can now know how to prepare for it years later.”  

Billingsley emphasized the significance of 9/11 for those who weren’t directly impacted or alive during the historic event. 

“Even if the younger generation is like, ‘It didn’t happen to me, why should I care,’ you should care because that could happen when you get older,” Billingsley said. “That can happen to your children or your grandchildren, so you should understand just because it didn’t happen to you, it can still happen. 

“We need to teach our children this so they can prepare for it, and we should still understand it as a person and as a civilian of the United States.”  

Anna Elizabeth Griggs, a sophomore music education major from Tallassee, Alabama, shared how learning about 9/11 through the years became a humbling experience.  

“It really did affect me because it made me realize it was such a bigger situation than I felt like it was, especially not being alive at the time it happened,” Griggs said.  

Griggs explained how 9/11 still holds a great impact on our society to this day.  

“It’s so important because it affected our country in a huge way, and it still does because we still see a lot of tragedies happening, especially in the past week,” Griggs said. “When another tragedy happens, we’re reminded of the feelings we had when 9/11 happened and all the tragedies before.” 

Griggs shared one perspective to help people understand the importance of reflecting on this day despite not physically being there. 

“Think about if that was you, and if you had a family member or someone very close to you in that situation that unfortunately passed away,” Griggs said. “Think about how much it would affect you as a person and then hearing someone say down the road it didn’t matter as much.  

Think about how that would affect you then.  

It’s important to honor the people that have passed away just because it keeps us united as to how we want to have empathy for those around us.  

It helps us remember why we should hold each other close as a nation and as a community.”