Today is the 19th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Many changes in the country and world have taken place as a result of that day. Knoxville Fire Chief Cal Wyman says that 9/11 inspired many first responders to enter that line of work.

“For 9/11, that was a huge change in times for our country and for our people. We’ve got kids these days that don’t know what 9/11 is, or don’t know the impact that 9/11 had. But you have a lot of people that that’s what made them go into emergency services, that’s what made them go into the military, is that event. That event brought our country together, it’s what helped establish everything, and made our country come together for the greater good. There’s a lot of people that are in public safety right now because of that event.”

Four passenger aircraft were hijacked and crashed that day, two into the World Trade Center in New York, one into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and one into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.