20 Years Later: Vermonters Remember Sept. 11

20 years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, we asked Vermonters to share their stories of how 9/11 changed their lives. We've collected nearly 70 of those stories in this interactive display. Some of them were broadcast in the week leading up to the anniversary; those stories are linked in the description below.

There are Vermonters who have a deeply personal connection to that day, like Deborah Garcia, whose husband David was killed in the World Trade Center attack, and Stuart Crawford Hult and Schandra Singh, who both escaped as survivors. Judith Markey worked as a Red Cross mental health first responder, aiding the soldiers at the Pentagon who had to recover the bodies of those who had been killed in that attack.

Steven Lambrecht was a commercial pilot and member of the Vermont Air National Guard. He had to find a way back from the New York City area to Vermont before immediately rushing into military action. Nicole Morlan was married at the time to another member of the Guard, a soldier with the Army Guard who deployed to Iraq for more than a year when their son was just a toddler.

Sam Nelis was a child, living in Islamabad, Pakistan, when Al Qaeda attacked the U.S.. He told us how hard it was to understand what was happening, and how difficult it was to watch his Muslim friends suddenly villified and distrusted. Christopher Helali was also a child, living in Massachusetts. His parents were Iranian immigrants and he says that after 9/11, his Muslim American family was “instantly suspect”.

Many Vermonters shared that the attacks made them reevaluate their lives, careers, and locations. For some that meant leaving the city and finding solace and healing in Vermont. That’s the case for Teresa Celemin and Matthew Smith.

Below, you’ll find pictures and text, audio and even a video from dozens of other Vermonters reflecting on the events of that time and how it shaped them. Tap each tile to see more.

In collecting these stories, we reached back out to everyone who submitted something to us and worked with them to craft what you see here. We have not independently verified these accounts; they are the personal and individual recollections as told to us. But taken together, they represent just a sliver of the many ways 9/11 reshaped our lives and the United States.