BOZEMAN, Mont. — Ask someone who was alive on Sept. 11, 2001, where they were that morning, and chances are they can tell you.
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For Benjamin King, a captain with the Bozeman Police Department, that memory is tied to Lafayette, Louisiana.
“I think everybody that I've ever talked to remembers where they were, what they felt, what they were doing,” King said.
Twenty-five years ago, King was not yet in law enforcement and was not living in Montana.
Like millions of Americans, King remembers watching the events unfold without knowing what would happen next.
“Not really knowing what was going on, what was going to happen,” he said.
For Bozeman Police Chief Jim Veltkamp, the morning began at work.
“I like everybody remember where I was; I was at work,” Veltkamp said.
Veltkamp was finishing a night shift at the station and was just getting off when he heard the news.
It was 9:03 a.m. in New York when the second tower was hit — 7:03 a.m. in Montana.
“It is one of those moments that just feels surreal, and you don't picture what those impacts are going to be,” Veltkamp said.
Just down the road at Bozeman High School, then-sophomore James Short was sitting in auto shop class.
Today, Short is the deputy chief of operations with the Bozeman Fire Department.
“I remember my teacher coming in with the old TV on wheels, saying that America had been under attack,” Short said.
The school, usually filled with chatter and laughter, fell silent.
“Eerie, everybody just kind of felt numb, like not understanding what was going on,” Short said.
It was a moment that would change the world before many of the students in that classroom had even entered adulthood.
“It was a lot to take in, to deal with how the world was changing before we were really out in the world,” Short said.
Short says what happened in the weeks following the attacks is what sticks with him most.
“You go across town, and there were American flags everywhere, and there were ‘United We Stand’ banners hanging across businesses, and it just felt like we were a community,” Short said.
That sense of community was on display Friday morning at the Bozeman Safety Center.
At 9:03 a.m., police and fire leaders gathered with members of the community to honor the 441 first responders who died during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The ceremony included a flyover and Taps, played by the American Legion.
Gov. Greg Gianforte also joined the community in remembering those who were lost.
“May we never let the memories of this solemn day fade,” Gianforte said.
Veltkamp said the annual ceremony has continued to grow as more people come together to remember.
“This event that we’ve hosted here has grown; more people come, and I think it's one of those events in history that is becoming cemented as a pivotal moment,” Veltkamp said.
More than 25% of the current U.S. population was born after the attacks.
For local first responders, that makes remembering 9/11 about more than looking back.
It is about making sure the stories of that day continue to be passed down.
“Honor that commitment of not forgetting and pass on their stories to generations that weren’t around that day,” Short said.
