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Community Corner

Locals Reflect on Life Since Sept. 11

For area residents the attacks meant a permanent change to their way of life.

A decade may have passed since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, but the memories of that day remain ingrained.

Looking back 10 years ago, some area residents reflect on how 9/11 changed America and their lives forever. We spoke with visitors to Naperville’s Riverwalk recently to find out their thoughts on that fateful day.

Harry Berson, of Naperville, remembers working at his job Sept. 11, 2001, when he learned about the attacks.  

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“I was shocked,” said Berson, a Vietnam veteran who served as a Marine sergeant. “You go back to 9/11, I don’t think we had any problems with anybody, then this came up unexpectedly. It means that we got into a lot of other problems afterward, though we did finally get Osama bin Laden.”

Joyce Kloth of Naperville said the 10th anniversary is very sad. She also noted how much security has increased everywhere.

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“People have to be more careful and they are not as trusting as they used to be,” Kloth said. “When you go to the airport, it’s no fun.”

Even though Kloth said she did not feel unsafe before 9/11, she said the increased security makes her feel safer.

Polish immigrant Anna Zlataric, of Winfield, said she lived in the United States for about a year and was getting homesick. She had a plane ticket to travel back to Poland on Sept. 11, 2001, but she changed her mind a few days before and canceled her flight the day before the attacks.

“Something stopped me,” she said. “I wanted to stay. I feel that I’m called to live in this country.”

Zlataric, who is now married and has a second-grade son named Daniel, said she feels 9/11 was a global event.  

“People will always remember,” she said of the anniversary.

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