In some ways it feels like it happened a hundred years ago and, in others, like it was only yesterday.
For any American old enough to have memories of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, there are images of towering skyscrapers engulfed in flames, which will never be forgotten.
And well they shouldn’t.
That’s because this deadly incursion of our national borders, which ranks right up with the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor and the 1814 burning of the White House, was a violation of our sanctity and should serve as a reminder to never let our guard down.
Two military veterans from Bucks County – Feasterville’s David Dibbs and Bristol Township’s Eugene “Butch” Oberlander – recall those times perhaps a bit more clearly than your average American citizen.
Dibbs, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was in the midst of a 25-year stint in the United States Air Force when the first jet airplanes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Currently, in addition to his professional career in real estate, he does volunteer work for the Travis Manion Foundation (named after the U.S. soldier from Doylestown who died in Middle East combat in 2007).
Oberlander, a standout Harry S Truman High School, Trenton State College and adult runner from Bristol Township, had served in the U.S. Army and was called into active duty during the Gulf War, which ended in 1991.
Both men acknowledge why it’s so important to “never forget,” which is the reason local commemorative races such as the Garden of Reflection 5K in Lower Makefield and the Feasterville Heroes 5K (which includes runners associated with the Travis Manion Foundation) scheduled for next month are so significant.
“So we as a people can say, ‘OK, you did this to us but you’re not going to break us. This is not going to break our sense of belonging,’” Dibbs said in a recent telephone interview. “It’s certainly not going to falter our resolution.”
Oberlander expressed similar feelings.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years since that occurred,” Oberlander said. “We had gone through somewhat of a time of peace since the Gulf War, 10 years.
“I think people need to be reminded, especially the younger generation, that we’re not always safe. They shouldn’t be complacent. We take the way we live for granted.”
Oberlander said the current situation in the Middle East involving the conflict with Iran, serves as living proof that the United States can never be complacent when it comes to international political relations.
“Because today’s children weren’t even around when it (9/11) occurred,” he said. “The younger ones aren’t taking seriously what we as adults are bound to right now in the times we’re living and what could possibly occur.”
According to Dibbs, the effects of 9/11 are still being felt in our society, especially the military.
“For a lot of veterans and their families even 25 years later, we’re seeing people in the community who are still struggling to wake up the next day,” Dibbs said. “A lot of people might not see it that way but when you have been a career military person and you’ve gone to combat, you’ve seen the results after something like 9/11 has happened.”
Dibbs is now a Realtor but remains involved with the Manion Foundation. That organization is involved with the Travis Manion 5K and the Lower Southampton Suicide Awareness Walk next month.
The 9/11 races, such as those in Feasterville and Lower Makefield, are circled in red on his calendar.
“It’s 25 years ago and we kind of reflect back years ago to when we were children about how our grandparents were thinking 25 years after Pearl Harbor happened,” he said.
Dibbs joined the military in 1996. He knew he was going in the military for a long time and 2001 was a defining moment.
“I was part of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard up in Horsham,” he said. “For me, in particular, being originally from Brooklyn, I had friends who were lost in the attack up there (NYC’s Twin Towers).
“I think the organizations that are out there supporting veterans, especially during specific dates like 9/11, Veterans Day, Memorial Day … I think it’s a testament to our service members and their families in that we continue to honor people like Travis Manion by hosting this event. It’s going to help other veterans in need.”
Dibbs, 48, served in the 111th Fighter Wing as a medical technician out of Willow Grove Air Base. He’s been a volunteer fireman in the Warminster-Feasterville community since 1993.
During his time in the service, Dibbs completed four combat deployments overseas and three humanitarian deployments back home in the U.S.
Also, for 18 years he was a 911 dispatcher in Bucks County. He and his wife, Lauren, have two daughters: Paige, 17, and Aliha, 15.
Oberlander, one of the most talented runners ever produced by Bucks County, resides in Bristol Township. He’s been a teacher (physical education) for three decades and is about to retire.
His family includes wife, Christine, along with son, Joseph, 29 (who is in the Army National Guard) and daughter, Alicia, 24 (graduate of Holy Family University studying to be a teacher).
As Sept. 11, 2026 approaches, a lot of people will be thinking about where we’ve come over these past 25 years.
For Dibbs, it’s about making life better for those who went through health challenges from foreign wars.
“I think when we look at an event like Sept. 11, it opens doors we unfortunately didn’t pay that much attention to,” he said. “When I see the results of what happened after Sept. 11 from military combat, we had more than double the amount of amputations than we had in the Civil War but we also had the highest survival rate for combat injuries since the Civil War.
“It makes you want to work harder for those people. The amount of medical issues that have come out from this, the amount of post-traumatic stress, the high rates of suicide. That’s why I’m a strong advocate for suicide prevention.”
The horror of 9/11 can serve as a warning we can never forget what happens when we let our guard down.
“When something as unfortunate as 9/11 occurs, it has the ability to show the darkest parts of humanity but it also has the ability to show the brightest parts of who we are as people,” Dibbs said. “Not as race, religion, creed orientation, rather just who we are as people. It shows how we can all come together, support one another, to be there for one another. I think we can see the best of humanity that can come from something like that.
“An event like that brings out the best of what we can be and what we aspire to be.”
Making future generations aware of what happened not so long ago is important as we move forward.
“My daughter and friends went on a school trip to the 9/11 Museum (in New York City),” Dibbs said. “It was a chance for her and her friends, they were educated on things that happened and what we do as military and military families to push forward afterward.”
When Oberlander came home from the Gulf War in the early ‘90s, many people thought the Middle East problems were over.
Turns out they were just getting started.
“In the back of my mind I was thinking about if we had finished the job,” Oberlander said. “We removed Iraqi troops from Kuwait, in (Gen. Norman) Schwarzkopf’s words, he wanted to finish the job and this (9/11) would not have occurred.
“(By 2001) We had been through almost 10 years of peace at that time. This (9/11) was going to push us into another Middle East war. That was probably the most scary thing at that time.”
The bottom line is the United States can never again get complacent. We get reminded of that every time we get asked to go through a second pat-down at airport security.
Dibbs probably put it best.
“l would say the significance (of 9/11) is we need to not forget what happened,” he said. “We can never forget because once we forget, we are doomed to repeat our past all over again.”
Race calendar
Sunday
• 988 Run Out of the Darkness 10K/5K, 9:30 a.m., Perkasie. Contact www.runningintheusa.com
Saturday, Sept. 12
• 9/11 Heroes Run – Feasterville, 8 a.m., Feasterville. Contact www.runsignup.com.
• Miles for Smiles 5K, 9 a.m., Bensalem. Contact www.runsignup.com.
• Mill Street Run 5K, 8 a.m., Bristol. Contact www.runsignup.com.
Sunday, Sept. 20
• Garden of Reflection 5K/10K, 9 a.m., Lower Makefield. Contact www.runsignup.com.
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