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Where were you when you heard about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001?

From the beginning, it became clear that nobody who was alive and at least of school age on that infamous day would ever forget where they were when they found out or what they had done the rest of the day. It became the new Pearl Harbor or John F. Kennedy assassination, awful events of generations past — everyone remembered where they were.

As we now approach the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed about 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and in a rural field in Pennsylvania, we’re asking local people to inform our coverage of this milestone by telling us where you were when you learned of the terrorist attacks.

Were you at home, school, work or out at the store? Did you watch the news on television that day? What were your first thoughts? Did you cancel plans? Did you make sure to hug your family extra tight that evening and call your friends to make sure they were OK?

You may not think your personal experience that day amounts to much, but these reflections are meaningful, not only for others to read now but for future generations to consider when they study this part of history. The reaction of the nation was not only a collective one; it was made up of many individuals and their bravery, their patriotism, their sacrifice and their service.

Being now 20 years removed from this awful day, there are now legal adults who weren’t even alive when this happened. We’re not looking down on them because they are young; however, we do need to do everything we can to ensure they have the resources they need to come to a small understanding of what it was like that day and what America was like in the days and weeks following.

To submit your story, you can go to the Suffolk News-Herald Facebook page and comment on the pinned post at the top of the page. You can also click the link in that post and share on our website.