[media-credit name=’Kelsey Fenton / The Badger Herald’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Eleven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Wisconsin legislators and student groups left politics aside yesterday to come together to remember the tragic events.
Gov. Scott Walker ordered that flags in Wisconsin be flown at half-staff yesterday to honor the attack’s victims, emergency responders, patriotic citizens and soldiers who have served since the attacks.
“Today, Wisconsin mourns the tragedy that took place on Sept. 11, 2001,” Walker said in a statement. “It is important to remember the price individuals have paid for the freedoms we enjoy today. When those who want to destroy our nation senselessly kill innocent civilians, we respond by banding together and moving forward.”
Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said the attack’s anniversary presents a chance for politicians to leave partisan politics for another day.
“It is a time to reflect on what happened and the tragedy that struck each and every one of us in many ways,” Kaufert said. “There is always something bigger, and this is clearly one of those moments.”
Kaufert, also a small business owner, said he paused the workday to talk to his employees about the attacks and thought many across the state were conducting similar discussions.
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, encouraged her constituents to remember the heroism displayed that day as well as the spirit the country had in the days following the tragedy.
“On a day marred by unspeakable acts of violence and inhumanity, we also witnessed acts of breathtaking bravery, generosity and kindness on the part of individuals, communities and nations,” Baldwin said in a statement. “On that brilliant fall day, and in the days that followed, our differences fell away as we were bound together by the love of country and concern for one another.”
Baldwin added that the public must act in this way again by saying yesterday was a day to “rekindl[e] our national sense of unity.”
On campus, a portion of Bascom Hill was filled with over 3,000 flags placed by University of Wisconsin Vets for Vets, UW College Democrats and UW College Republicans, according to a statement released by UW College Republicans Chair Jeff Snow.
“Today we set aside political differences and join as Americans to honor the victims, their families, the first responders and our men and women in uniform who died defending the country. … We will never forget,” Snow said.
UW Vets for Vets, a nonpartisan organization, places the flags every year, according to its president Nick Faus. This year, the College Democrats and College Republicans each called Faus to offer their help on the project.
In a statement released by Faus on Tuesday, he showed his support for the families of those affected by the attacks. He also encouraged the public to come together more often, regretting that this only happens during tragedies.
“That day serves as a reminder of the horrible things that occur in the world, but it also is a symbol of the strength of our country,” Faus said. “It was a time when there wasn’t just red and blue. There was red, white and blue.”