People in Northeast Wisconsin remember 9/11 attacks

GREEN BAY - The 9/11 monument in Green Bay stood silent Tuesday morning.

Community ceremonies acknowledging the tragedy were not held in major cities in the area.

People did honor this day in their own way, even without formal ceremony.

American flags and fresh cut roses surround Green Bay's salute to September 11.

"It doesn't seem that long ago," said Wylie Hui, Vancouver of British Columbia, Canada.

Wylie Hui and Richard Biddle are here to pay their respects.

"It's pretty incredible. It's humbling especially on a day like today, remember the people that you lost," said Richard Biddle of Somerset, England.

It's a day that changed the course of American history.

"It never gets easier, it never gets easier to watch, for anybody who was at least a teenager, on that day, that will stick with us forever," said Lucy Arendt, UW-Green Bay School of Business.

But at Green Bay's Fire Station Six.

"This is the memory of the 343 we lost on 9/11, and also of our fallen brother here at home Arnie Wolff, who we lost in 2006," said Lt. Matthew Gerber, Green Bay Fire Department.

The losses are honored everyday.

"Today is the day to remember those that sacrificed all, and remember our service men and women who are still fighting to this day, so we can enjoy what we have right now," said Gerber.

But eleven years later, it may be an emotional turning point for a country trying to heal.

"You don't get over something like that. I don't think that's possible. I think what you do is you process it in a way where you can make sense of it, and again, you go on with your life," said Arendt.

And that's what happened at Station Six. A woman from New Jersey brought coffee and doughnuts for firefighters she didn't even know.

"It was very nice thing for her to do, we appreciated her time, that's us," said Gerber.

It was a gesture that did not go unnoticed. And as firefighters answer their latest call,

"It's just something you do for the job, it's what we love," said Gerber.

Others may reflect on this day, and what it means to them.

"Ultimately it's how does it affect you personally and how you mark that day," said Arendt.

Mayor Schmitt's chief of staff, in explaining why his city didn't have a ceremony, said other groups have organized the ceremony in the past, but did say the city is working on plans for next year.