Remembering 9/11: The Tragedy That Froze a Nation

Tuesday is the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

In downtown Milwaukee, Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Gov. Scott Walker, Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn and Gurmal Singh of the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin

Just like the assassination of President John F. Kennedy or the bombing of Pearl Harbor, everyone knows exactly where they were on Sept. 11, 2001, when they learned about the attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City.

Rabbi David Cohen of in Fox Point remembers when he was supposed to attend a very regular staff meeting, but like many, wound up watching, mouth agape,

"We were just riveted," he said.

We were reminded just how close to home terror can strike when Oak Creek was the nation’s second mass shooting in just more than two weeks.

According to police, a gunman killed six people inside the temple and wounded dozens more, including an Oak Creek police officer, before being killed in a shootout Sunday morning. The incident, classified by officials as "domestic terror," left temple members shocked and in disbelief.

"This is disgraceful for the community and the whole world,” one member, who drives from Madison to Sikh services in Oak Creek each Sunday, told Patch. “It's sad that this happened here, and

Firefighters across Wisconsin gathered in September 2011 in a that lost their lives in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001.

Lt. Pete Busalacchi said he expected the face on his badge to carry him through the toughest parts of the climb.

“I picture myself looking down at that badge and Busalacchi, one of 12 participants from the North Shore Fire Department, said. "You know who you are climbing for. As they say, they couldn’t complete the climb.”