Remembering September 11, 2001

September 7, 2021

The impacts of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, continue to reverberate nationwide and for members of the Cretin-Derham Hall community. We spoke to three people whose lives were changed by the aftermath, and ask our students, families, and entire community to hold them in their prayers. 

Mariah Mills Jacobsen '03 was a junior at CDH when she heard the news. She remembers then-President Dick Engler coming over the intercom, watching the news footage in class, and feeling devastated. She felt a personal grief, although she couldn't put a finger on why.

Three years later, Mills, who was adopted as an infant by a St. Paul couple, learned that her birth father was Tom Burnett, one of the heroes of United 93. Burnett was part of a small group of passengers who took control of the plane back from the hijackers, crashing it into a Pennsylvania field instead of the intended target. He saved countless lives through his heroism. The University of Minnesota holds a Tom Burnett Advanced Leadership Program each spring.

Mills Jacobsen, now a practicing attorney, has since formed deep connections with Burnett's wife, younger children, and other members of his family. She is involved in activism and will be speaking at the 9/11 Day of Remembrance at the Capitol. 

"I think it’s important for high school students to understand that 9/11 touched each and every American alive on that day—whether he or she had a personal connection to a victim or not," Mills Jacobsen said.

"While there was certainly much evil and darkness on that day, there were moments of beauty too," she reflects. "Those of us who lived through 9/11 clung to those moments of courage, kindness, and heroism committed by our fellow citizens in the days following the attacks. And those acts of bravery helped Americans to gain more hope in the proposition that more unites us than divides us. By continuing to keep 9/11 victims top of mind each year on 9/11, we honor their sacrifice.  We ensure they are not forgotten by continuing to share how so many of the victims of 9/11 embodied the best in America in their final moments. And we can draw inspiration from their final actions to direct us in our own daily lives."

Gary Koecheler '62 lost his life while at work on the 84th floor of 2 World Trade Center that morning, where he was a government bond broker for Euro Brokers Inc. 

Koecheler had earned a Bronze Star in 1968 for his service in Vietnam, a medal awarded to those who distinguished themselves through heroic or meritorious achievement or service. Koechler was a humble man - his sons, John and Paul, never learned what he did to earn the medal. He worked hard to put himself through Cretin and then college and law school at the University of Minnesota. From 1995 to 1998, Gary served on the board of Fordham Preparatory School, a Catholic school in Bronx, N.Y. He was also on the board of the Catholic Youth Organization from 1984 to 1986. There is a memorial marker for Koecheler at Fort Snelling.

"I would describe Gary as a loving, intelligent and fiercely loyal man," said his sister Judy Schneider. "I was very fortunate to have him as a brother for as long as I did. When he was in law school, I would ride out to the U of MN on the weekend if he needed to get a book. We wouldn't take the freeway, we would ride along Summit Avenue, and Gary would quiz me about the names of the buildings. He would run in to grab what he needed and leave me in the car which was parked illegally. I was an 8-year-old rule follower at the time so that was very stressful!"

General Joseph Votel '76 (Ret.) played an essential role in the Global War on Terror that followed the September 11 attacks. On October 19, 2001, he led Operation Rhino, which attacked several Taliban targets. He held a series of important assignments and was eventually appointed Commander of U.S. Central Command in March of 2016. 

Votel is only one of the many alumni who served in the Global War on Terror, and his message for his fellow servicemembers is an important one.

"Your service mattered then and still does today," he said. "The sad ending of our efforts in Afghanistan does nothing to diminish the service and sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands who answered the Nation’s call in the months and years after 9/11. We kept our Nation safe from attacks from Al Qaeda and other organizations and we gave the Afghan people hope for a better future. This was a noble undertaking and the conclusion of it now can never undermine that. For those who were wounded and for the families of those we lost — I would only want them to know that the sacrifices their loved ones made were important to their comrades and to our Nation at the time and they remain so today. Nothing happening now or in the future can change that. They were Americans at their best putting it on the line for the buddies and for their country. We could not have asked for more."

Votel and Mills Jacobsen were both be featured in a documentary which aired on KSTP/ABC on Friday, September 10. The program is titled “Resolute:  Minnesota Stories of 9/11 and the War.” 

Please join us in praying for these members of our community and the countless others worldwide impacted by the attacks on September 11, 2001.