GREENFIELD — Twenty years ago, Jason Horning was a 24-year-old firefighter with the Greenfield Fire Department. He was assigned the day shift at Station 2. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, he was walking through the day room when he caught a glimpse on the television of the aftermath of an American Airlines Boeing 767, loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel, crashing into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
Like many, he thought it was an accident and instantly started thinking of all the people in the building and plane who immediately perished on the upper floors of the 110-story skyscraper.
“Just to think about all the people who died on the initial impact, it was overwhelming,” Horning said.
Like a true first-responder, he began to think of the people who might still be alive trapped on the floors above and the rescuers he knew would get to the scene as quickly as possible to help.
Within minutes, a second Boeing 767 — United Airlines Flight 175 — smashed into the south tower.
“I just started thinking, ‘Holy cow! This is not an accident,'” Horning said.
Horning had been a full-time firefighter since March 1998. He knew the helplessness his comrades on the scene were feeling when the first tower fell.
“When I saw the building collapse, my heart just sank because I knew there were a bunch of firefighters and people still in that building,” he said. “It was such an unreal feeling to see so many people lose their life at one time.”
While Horning wasn’t a part of the Indiana task force that soon headed to Ground Zero to help in the recovery effort, he wanted to let other first-responders in New York City know people in Indiana were with them.
Horning reached out to Port Authority officials in New York City and eventually secured a small piece from one of the twin towers along with an American Flag that lists the name of every American who died on 9/11.
The steel beam and the flag are both on display in the lobby of the fire station in downtown Greenfield.
When the anniversary comes around each year, Horning says he always thinks back to the moment so many lives changed. It’s important, he said, to share the history with younger people who may not understand the gravity of what happened.
“I’m glad I live in a state where they teach about it,” he said. “We can never forget.”
