Haerr recalls impact of 9-11

September 11 is a date most of us won’t forget.

This is especially true for our service men and women who stepped-up after terrorists struck the United States on that late summer day in 2001.

“My life was impacted the next day,” recalls Michael Haerr, Veterans Assistance Superintendent for Livingston County. “We ended up being mobilized to secure the power plants here throughout Central Illinois with our unit.”

Haerr recently sat down and discussed the significance of 9-11 for his generation and for those service members who enlisted afterwards. Many remember seeing those towers fall which resulted in action or lives being impacted.

“Our military and their families deserve every respect and every benefit that our lawmakers see fit to give them and they deserve the support of our communities,” Haerr adds.

More than 100 soldiers said their goodbyes over the weekend in Pontiac as they spend their last days in Illinois before moving on for further training and an eventual deployment.

“Those are always very somber events because it’s that ‘hits you in the gut realization’ that our veterans, their families and our service members that are serving today are making tremendous sacrifices to allow us the right to be citizens that can vote in elections, take care of each other and live the lives we want to live,” explained Haerr.  

Haerr was the guest on the Route 24 Radio show last week. You can listen back to the entire episode: route24radio.com/podcasts