KEWASKUM, Wis. — Twenty-five years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial in Kewaskum is offering a place of reflection for those who lived the tragedy firsthand — not as history, but as a wound that never fully heals.
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Drew Hayes was working four blocks away from the World Trade Center when the towers fell.
"I heard the first plane crash into the tower, and it sounded a lot like glass breaking. It was really startling," Hayes said. "Seeing this affected me a lot. I'm very glad it's here."
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Hayes was living in New York in his twenties at the time. He later returned to Wisconsin to raise his family. They're learning how deeply the attacks affected him emotionally.
For Hayes, the pain of remembering has not dulled with time.
"Every year is hard," he said. "Every year I feel the effects of the memories of this. It doesn't fade as much as I'd think it would."
Laura Hatfield lost her friend Jeff Smith, who worked in the World Trade Center and did not survive the attack. She purchased a memorial brick engraved with his name so he would not be forgotten.
"It's kind of a way to honor Jeff," Hatfield said. "We went to his service—It's a lasting thing. His name is there. He died that morning at 36."
Visiting the memorial on the 25th anniversary brought an unexpected wave of emotion.
"I did not think I was going to be so overwhelmed," Hatfield said.
Both Hatfield and Hayes hope the memory of the tragedy reminds people to come together and cherish the time they have with loved ones.
"Every year is a reminder that we've had a year together," Hayes said. "We've had a year to do our best to make the world a better place."
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