Lansing remembers 9/11

LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Wednesday was Sept. 11, also known as “Patriot Day,” the anniversary of the terror attacks on the U.S. in 2001. Communities around mid-Michigan paid respects to the victims of those attacks.

First responders gathered at the Capitol to honor those who died that day and those who have lost their lives due to the aftereffects. For many, these events bring healing.

“We need to say their names out loud every year, we need to get together here, honor our first responders, and talk about the ones that we’ve lost,” said one attendee.

“We’ve learned through heroic acts of sacrifice and life-sustaining service that we have care and concern for our neighbors and ourselves. We learned that we can live together to help one another even in the face of insurmountable uncertainty and fear,” said one of the speakers.

Just across town in Lansing, volunteers honored the victims through acts of service, building and repairing houses with Habitat for Humanity to remember those who died and gave their lives to save others.

“This day of service allows us to remember and pay tribute to the victims of Sept. 11,” said one of the organizers. “It allows us to honor those that rose in service to response to the attacks.”

Jeff Dutka was just one of the volunteers, and he said it was a perfect day.

“We were looking at the calendar and thought 9/11 would be a perfect, perfect match for what we’re trying to do,” said Dutka.

The project is so big, it goes beyond just a single day.

“We expanded it throughout the week, so it’s not just today, but we’ve had builds going on all week, and we’re gonna have to a couple more over these next few days,” said Dutka.

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