In July 2001, just two months before September 11, I stood with my daughter, my sister, and my mom in front of the Sphere at the World Trade Center. We had traveled to New York for a wedding held high above the city at Windows on the World. It was an amazing experience. We met members of the staff, rode the elevators to the top, and experienced a place that, at the time, simply felt extraordinary.

That memory changed forever on September 11.

That morning, I was working in a dental office in Fredericksburg. We did not have a television in the office, so as patients arrived and the phones kept ringing, we took turns walking next door to a restaurant to watch the news. Like so many people, we tried to understand what we were seeing as the events unfolded.

For me, it was especially difficult to process because I had so recently been at the top of the World Trade Center. I could picture the people who worked there, the staff we had met, the elevator operators, and all those who went to work that morning expecting an ordinary day. I kept thinking about the people who had dedicated themselves to their jobs and to welcoming thousands of visitors, never knowing what was ahead of them.

That connection to remembrance is especially meaningful within the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail community. Our trail owner, David Brickley, was inspired in the days following the attacks to envision what would become the September 11th National Memorial Trail, connecting the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 site through a network of trails and greenways. His vision transformed remembrance into something people could experience physically, one step, one mile, and one community at a time.

Trails have a remarkable ability to connect us not only to places, but also to stories. They give us space to move forward while still remembering what came before.

As we mark 25 years since September 11, members of our DRHT Board have also shared their memories of that day. Their stories include being evacuated from Dahlgren, waiting anxiously for news of family members, being turned away from the base, and watching what began as an ordinary morning become a day they would never forget.

We share some of those recollections in this month's newsletter, along with a message from David about the legacy of the September 11th National Memorial Trail. Together, they remind us that history is not only something written in books or preserved in monuments. It also lives in the stories people carry with them.

As fall arrives on the Dahlgren Trail, I hope you will join us for the races, volunteer opportunities, community events, and quiet moments that make this trail special. And perhaps, somewhere along the way, take a moment to remember the people, places, and stories that continue to shape the paths we walk today.

Laurie Schlemm
President, Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail

Where We Were: Memories from the DRHT Board

We asked members of the Friends of the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail Board to share what they remember about September 11, 2001. Their experiences are different, but each captures something recognizable about that morning: uncertainty, fear, concern for loved ones, and memories that remain vivid a quarter-century later.

Jim Lynch: Jim was working in Building 1490 at Dahlgren when news arrived that the first plane had struck the World Trade Center. At first, it seemed possible that it had been a terrible accident. When the second plane hit, that interpretation disappeared.

With uncertainty over whether additional attacks could follow, the base was evacuated. Jim remembers his boss rushing into his office and telling him to get out, followed by the long wait in traffic as employees attempted to leave Dahlgren.

In the days afterward, the tragedy became even more personal. Early casualty lists included a Jim Lynch who had been working on a Navy contract at the Pentagon, prompting worried calls from people who knew Jim. He later learned more about the other Jim Lynch and has since visited his bench at the Pentagon Memorial and placed a rose there. A son of a member of Jim’s church was also killed at the World Trade Center, and Jim later visited his name at Ground Zero.

For Jim, the memory remains straightforward and deeply felt: it was a day of tragedy that we must never forget.

Kevin Biondi: Kevin remembers September 11 beginning with what was supposed to be a happy milestone. He and his wife were taking their oldest daughter, Cara, to her first day of preschool at Ferry Farm Baptist Church. Kevin had already told his supervisor at Dahlgren that he would arrive late so he could be there for the occasion.

On the drive, they heard a radio report that a plane had struck one of the World Trade Center towers. Initial reports suggested it might have been a small aircraft, but information continued to arrive rapidly.

After dropping Cara off, Kevin headed toward Dahlgren for work. When he reached the base, the guard turned him around and sent him home. He remembers the experience simply as the strangest feeling, followed by hours of learning the true scale of what had happened. It remains, he says, a day that will never be forgotten.

Warren Veazey: Warren was working at the Birchwood Power Plant on September 11 while also serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve and maintaining an active Merchant Marine license. His thoughts quickly turned to his brother, an airline pilot whose aircraft had departed Washington National Airport just ahead of one of the hijacked planes. For a frightening period of time, Warren and his family did not know whether he was safe. They eventually learned that his brother's plane had landed safely in Houston.

The events of September 11 would soon affect Warren directly as well. That winter, he returned to sea aboard a U.S. Naval Ship for a three-month assignment to Kuwait, leaving his wife, Jenna, at home with three children under the age of three.

Like so many memories of that day, Warren’s recollection combines a national tragedy with intensely personal moments: waiting for news about a loved one, relief when it finally came, and then answering the call to serve.