If someone is old enough to remember September 11, 2001, chances are they remember exactly where they were when it happened. They remember being glued to the television as the nation watched the World Trade Center towers burn. They saw the Pentagon come under attack and the story of Flight 93 unfold in Pennsylvania. They watched as America changed in real time.

For those serving in the military, the attacks carried an even deeper meaning. September 11 transformed the way the military operated and changed how an entire generation understood the commitment they had made when they raised their right hand.

For Master Sergeant (Ret) Theo Toliver, that realization came at Minot Air Force Base. Toliver had joined the military less than a year earlier and was assigned to what was then the 741st Missile Security Forces Squadron. On the morning of September 11, he walked out of his dorm room and into the day room for what was supposed to be a training day.

In the day room a television was showing breaking news that an airplane had struck one of the World Trade Center towers. At first, there was confusion about what had happened. Then Toliver watched the second airplane strike the other tower live on television. “I left the building because I had to get to training, but all I could see from the moment I walked out was people running, just chaos,” Toliver recalled.

When he entered the Security Forces building, the mission had changed. Airmen were told to arm up and prepare to be posted throughout the base. Toliver and other Security Forces members remained in the vehicle barn for weeks, prepared and ready to support operations. “We didn’t leave the base for months”, said Toliver.
Minot AFB went into Force Protection Condition Delta, the highest level of force protection. Toliver’s unit also helped fill in for the 5th Security Forces Squadron by providing additional security posts throughout the installation. When members weren’t out in the missile field they were helping on the installation to fill manning needs.

For a young Airman who had only recently joined the military, the seriousness of the moment became very real. Toliver remembered being scared and thinking he might actually have to give his life for his country.
Like many young people entering the military, Toliver originally joined for the benefits and opportunities the service provided. But after September 11, “I stayed for different reasons,” he said.

Before 9/11, some young Airmen may have understood the significance of wearing the uniform but perhaps never expected they would actually be called upon to defend the country. Suddenly, the possibility of war was no longer an abstract idea. “Everything changed from there,” Toliver said. “Procedures, our lives, everything.”
The change was felt not only by service members, but also by their families.

5th Mission Support Group Deputy Director (Retired Lt Col) Bruce Bartholomew and his wife Christine were living through their own experience of the attacks. He was attending Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB in Alabama when the attacks occurred.

Initially, Bartholomew and his classmates thought the crash could have been an accident. Then the first tower collapsed and military officials were directing students to leave the installation and head home.

His wife, Christine, was at home with their children, including their six-week-old daughter, when she saw the second plane strike. She recalled thinking that this was a terrorist attack before it was ever said. The following morning, a routine appointment for the newborn demonstrated how quickly life had changed. Security measures at the base had been dramatically increased, turning what would normally have been a short trip to the hospital into three hours of waiting at checkpoints. Her vehicle was searched numerous times, along with the baby’s diaper bag.

For military members, the years that followed brought increased deployments and a prolonged period of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Although Minot was considered a deployed-in-place location and many members stationed there did not deploy, Toliver later deployed to Afghanistan while stationed at Nellis Air Force Base.

Bartholomew also saw the aftermath of 9/11 shaped military operations. While stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in 2003, Bruce became involved in the deployment of B-2 bombers to Diego Garcia in support of the Shock & Awe operation in Iraq.

The 9/11 attacks also changed how Americans viewed military service and influenced why some people chose to join. There was a noticeable increase in patriotism across the country, with American flags appearing on homes, businesses and vehicles and communities rallying behind service members.

Twenty-five years later, many of today’s young Airmen have no personal memory of September 11. Some were not yet born when the attacks occurred. Because of that, Toliver believes that makes it even more important for veterans to share their experiences. “Young Airmen need to understand why they signed up because unfortunately something could happen, and they need to be ready,” he said.

For those who lived through September 11, the significance of the attacks goes beyond the images preserved in history books and television archives. It was the day Americans watched an attack unfold on their own soil. It was the day military service took on a different meaning for an entire generation.

And for veterans such as MSgt (Ret) Theo Toliver andLt Col (Ret) Bruce Bartholomew, 25 years later, it remains a reminder of the responsibility that comes with wearing the uniform. The memories have not disappeared with time. They have become stories passed from one generation of service members to the next.

To the families who lost someone on September 11, 2001, the country remembers with you. Their lives mattered. Their stories matter. Their sacrifice matters. Twenty-five years may have passed, but the promise remains the same; We remember. We honor. We will never forget.