Hoosier military veteran reflects on 9/11

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Retired Air Force Brigadier General Stewart Goodwin has very clear memories of Sept. 11th, 2001.

“I’ll never forget the pickup trucks in downtown Indiana, with American flags flying. People had flags draped over the overpasses,” he said.

On 9/11 Godwin was State Director of Support for the Indiana Air National Guard. Pilots under his command helped escort President George W. Bush back to Washington D.C. after the attacks.

“When the decision was made about the President going back to Washington D.C., what happened was the two racer jets from Terre Haute helped escort Air Force One back to Washington,” he said.

Goodwin is now Executive Director of the Indiana War Memorial. There is a section inside the museum dedicated to honoring the 9 Hoosiers who died in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

He remembers how unified the country was after the attacks, and laments how divided the country is today.

“We need to be Americans first, because if we are not, somebody is going to tell us how to live, and it probably isn’t going to be Americans. The fact is, we are not going to like the way they want us to live,” he said.

Also on Sunday the Indianapolis International Airport held a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m., when the first of four commercial airliners struck the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and a field in rural Pennsylvania.