A profound atmosphere of grief and shared remembrance enveloped Mohnton as community members paused to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Standing beside the outdoor memorial at the Berks Military History Museum and Holocaust Museum and Education Center, Pennsylvania State Representative Mark Gillen recalled the sudden shock that gripped the United States during the morning of September 11, 2001.
Gillen described the emotional progression experienced by millions across the country as the disaster unfolded in real time. The initial collision of the first aircraft appeared to be an unprecedented and tragic accident, leaving onlookers in stunned disbelief. However, that confusion instantly turned to widespread horror when the second jet struck the World Trade Center, making it unmistakably clear that the nation was under a coordinated attack and plunging the public into a state of near paralysis.
Rather than remaining on the sidelines, Gillen felt an immediate calling to respond to the catastrophic emergency. He possessed specialized background experience, having trained as an emergency medical technician and in interior firefighting, alongside professional experience in law enforcement spanning university police duties and the corrections system. These qualifications fostered a strong personal determination to travel directly to the disaster zone and assist in any way possible.
Acting without hesitation, Gillen contacted a fellow firefighter in Mohnton to borrow essential turnout gear. Equipped with the borrowed protective equipment, he stepped into his vehicle and embarked on the drive toward New York City, stepping into an unfolding national crisis with little certainty about what conditions he would encounter upon arrival.
The journey underscored the extraordinary gravity of the situation as Gillen traveled eastward along Interstate 78. Electronic highway message boards flashed an ominous and unprecedented alert warning motorists that New York was officially closed. Presenting his credentials at multiple police checkpoints along the highway corridor, he was repeatedly granted clearance by authorities, ultimately navigating his way into Jersey City, New Jersey.
Reaching the waterfront, Gillen encountered an unprecedented scene where standard emergency management protocols were absent due to the sheer scale of the catastrophe. Amid ongoing maritime activity on the Hudson River, he managed to secure passage onto a harbor tugboat, successfully crossing the water to set foot on the shores of Lower Manhattan.
Upon reaching the disaster site, Gillen linked up with emergency personnel operating in the devastated area. He was promptly tasked with assisting a canine handler, embarking on a grueling overnight search-and-rescue mission spanning the dark hours of Sept. 11 into the morning of Sept. 12 to look for possible survivors trapped beneath the rubble.
The conditions on the ground presented an overwhelming landscape of ruin that standard news imagery could never fully encapsulate. Gillen observed rows of crushed ambulances and overturned fire apparatus, an immediate and sobering testament to the immense hazards encountered by initial responders. Among the massive loss of life were 343 firefighters who had charged directly into danger, and rescue teams were soon compelled to begin the somber task of flagging human remains amidst the wreckage.
The atmosphere among the rescue teams demanded absolute mental discipline to keep from becoming overwhelmed by the scope of the destruction. Gillen watched surviving emergency personnel furiously digging into mountains of pulverized building materials, structural steel, and shattered office fixtures. Driven by deep camaraderie, responders searched through almost impenetrable layers of debris, clinging to hope as they uncovered discarded helmets or personal identification belonging to fallen comrades.
These haunting memories from Ground Zero remained central to Gillen’s mission years later when he established the Berks Military History Museum and Holocaust Museum and Education Center in 2014. Housed within the historic 1873 Cyrus D. Hornberger Wagon Works building on Main Street in Mohnton, the institution was designed to preserve key military history, including crucial artifacts representing the broader Global War on Terror.
In 2016, Gillen completed an extensive year-long administrative process to acquire authentic structural relics from the World Trade Center complex. His efforts yielded a massive 600-pound section of steel train track recovered from the subterranean Port Authority station beneath the Twin Towers, a piece visibly bent and distorted by the extreme force of the collapsing skyscrapers.
The heavy artifact was successfully transported to Pennsylvania with the assistance of Trans Logistics, an enterprise based in Birdsboro. During the transport coordination, an additional historic artifact became available when another organization was unable to claim or move a large directional sign from World Trade Center Five.
Learning that the storage warehouse holding the relics was on the verge of closing permanently, Gillen agreed to take immediate custody of the World Trade Center Five signage to prevent it from being lost to history, bypassing further administrative delays. While the sign is currently kept in offsite storage, museum leadership plans to place it on public display within the permanent collection in the future.
Looking back on the twenty-five years that have passed since the tragedy, Gillen remarked on the profound cultural and social shifts that have transformed the country. In the immediate aftermath of the 2001 attacks, an extraordinary wave of civic unity swept across the nation, resulting in sold-out supplies of American flags throughout Berks County, widespread public prayer, and a shared realization that every corner of the homeland was vulnerable.
However, Gillen expressed deep concern regarding the current state of national cohesion, warning that domestic division risks undermining the country’s collective strength. He cautioned that citizens increasingly risk viewing fellow Americans as adversaries, an internal distraction that threatens to divert vital attention away from significant and complex geopolitical challenges confronting the nation on the global stage.
The enduring commitment to honoring those lost continues annually in Mohnton, where community members assemble outside the museum at the Sept. 11 memorial. Each year, the solemn gathering commences precisely at 8:46 a.m., marking the exact moment the first hijacked airliner struck the World Trade Center and preserving the memory of the fallen for future generations.
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