Mount Pleasant officials reflect on 9/11
| Photo Editor (Photo Illustration)
Thirteen years after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Mount Pleasant Police and Fire Departments still reel from the tragic events of the they and never forget those who were lost.
Lt. Andy Latham of the Mount Pleasant Police Department was working in undercover narcotics in 2001, so he didn’t receive calls to help on Sept. 11. Latham also said that they did not send anyone from the Mount Pleasant Police Department, but he said he feels the tragedy of Sept. 11 is very important to the history of the United States.
“We still need to be very conscious of our security. We have to keep on that,” said Latham. “I remember where I was when I heard on the radio that a plane crashed and then another plane crashed and I thought to myself ‘you know what? This is not an accident.’”
Lt. Mike Dunham of the Mount Pleasant Fire Department said they had willing recruits to go and help, but did not receive any calls on that day to help.
“We have a group of people on the technical rescue team that have certain skills regarding collapse, confined space, that kind of thing. So we made it aware to them that we had some people that had that skill,” Dunham said. “But they had literally thousands of people just kind of showing up out there, which made it even more difficult. So we were trying to be considerate, although we wanted to help, not being more of a burden to them.”
Dunham, like so many fireman, are ever thoughtful of the 343 firemen lost their lives.
“Although they’re on a different department, all firemen have that feeling of brotherhood,” Dunham said. “So it’s still hard. We still think about it quite often.”
Jeff Browne, public information officer for Mount Pleasant, was sleeping when his family called him the morning of Sept. 11 and asked him if he was OK.
“Thirteen years later, I’m still taken aback by what happened," Brown said. "It still puts me in awe when you think about it and reflect about it, that somebody would come and do that. And then the men and women that risked their lives to save those individuals…it’s amazing. I mean, that’s what we do.”
If you or someone you know is feeling down, whether it be related from 9/11 or you need someone to talk to, please contact Central Michigan University’s Counseling Center at 989-774-3381.
