NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- No matter the time, distance or circumstance, the remembrance of 9/11 hits home, even for those with no direct connection to the terrorist attacks 11 years ago today, with the exception of being an American.
More than a decade has now passed and to locals here, the distance between New York City and greater New Smyrna Beach is 1,045 miles or a nearly 18-hour drive non-stop.
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"(It's) a terrible tragedy a real wake up call that we cannot let our guard down, said Rosemarie Frutchey, a former Southeast Volusia Chamber of Commerce president and New Smyrna Beach resident.
New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer said the 9/11 anniversary gives communities across the nation time to reflect and take stock in what happened.
"It's a sad day for all the men and women who died on Sept. 11, 2001," Barringer said. "And for all of the men and women who later died in the rescues and clean-up."
The 45-year-old mayor said 9/11 is certainly the biggest act of terrorism affecting Americans in his lifetime.
Oak Hill resident Mary Yando thinks back to what her mother and father told her of what was to this point the most deadly attack and that was the Japanese bombing of Pearl Hardbor that led to the US getting directly involved in World War II.
But for Yando, Pearl Harbor was something passed down with more detail in grade-school textbooks.
Aside from the countless people in Manhattan where two planes pierced and toppled the Twin Towers, the Sept. 11 attacks were something she and people around the world saw before their eyes with countless media response.
"How will any of us (will) ever forget that day?" Yando asked. "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing, and I remember thinking. This must have been what my parents felt like when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I watched, glued to the television, in horror trying to understand why any one or any group could even conceive of doing such a horrendous act of evil and murder."
"How will any of us (will) ever forget that day?" Yando asked. "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing, and I remember thinking. This must have been what my parents felt like when Pearl Harbor was attacked. I watched, glued to the television, in horror trying to understand why any one or any group could even conceive of doing such a horrendous act of evil and murder."
Like countless Americans, Yando still doesn't understand the motivation to murder so many innocent people.
"I find an enduring deep-seated pride in the heroes (who) died at Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvania (from a downed hijacked plane)," she said. "Those heroes represent the very best of us. I feel sorrow for the loss of them, but pride in their behavior, their willingness to give the ultimate sacrifice to save whoever they could. "
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