Why Remember 9/11 at the Gann?
By Cody Berry
While the Gann Museum specializes in the history of Saline County, we must also acknowledge that sometimes events that happen elsewhere also affect life right here in Arkansas. In the decades after the terrorist attacks on 9/11/2001, people have been asking each other, “Where were you when 9/11 happened?” Whether you were a student in school here, like I was, or you were at work, and a coworker told you about it, we all have a memory of that day. Dark days like those are tragic and painful to recall. But, as Fred Rogers once said, “Look for the helpers.”
The “helpers” on 9/11 were ordinary people who put on their uniforms, went to work, and answered the call. Those people are called first responders because when bad things happen, they go in first. In addition to the civilian victims of the 9/11 attacks, there were 441 first responders who lost their lives. 343 were firefighters, 71 were law enforcement officers, 8 were paramedics, and 55 were military personnel. Altogether 2,977 people died that day.1 Our First In: A Tribute to Our First Responders exhibit is our way of saying “thank you” to the men and women who keep us safe every day and to help educate young people who grew-up in a post 9/11 world.
To those young people, 2001 might as well be 1941 or 1963 or 1865. They have probably only read books about it. That is why it’s important to remember such events even if they didn’t happen here. First In runs from September 11 to December 18, 2026. The Gann Museum is one of nine local museums participating in Museum Day on September 12 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.
Thank you to our patrons and to our first responders.
Citations:
1 Airman First Class Madi Collier, “12th Annual Blood, Sweat and Stairs: Honoring 9/11 First Responders,” Goodfellow Air Force Base, September 16, 2024, https://www.goodfellow.af.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/3907701/12th-annual-blood-sweat-and-stairs-honoring-911-first-responders/, Date Accessed 8/27/2026.