Birmingham Reflects on Sept. 11: Mayor Explains 'An Intensely Personal Aspect'

Memories of Sept. 11, 2001 are widely shared, but also personally distinct. So are reflections on the enduring impact of that life-altering day a decade ago.

This week, Birmingham Patch presents 12 diverse perspectives on what happened that sunny Tuesday morning and the ensuing decade — including comments by a pastor, a sheriff, an educator, civic leaders, a state representative, a county commissioner and a woman widowed that indelible morning.

'This was an attack on my hometown'

Gordon Rinschler
Birmingham Mayor

As with all Americans, the events of Sept. 11, 2001 have had a deep and lasting impact on me and my view of the world. But as a native New Yorker, there is also an intensely personal aspect.

This was an attack not only on my country, but on my hometown. Among the thousands killed in the Twin Towers was a high school classmate. Friends and relatives are among the tens of thousands of people whose lives were directly affected.

Painful emotions from the attacks have not diminished with the passing of a decade. Some wounds, time does not heal.

Gordon Rinschler, a city commissioner since 2007, rose to vice president at DaimlerChrysler before retiring in 2002 after a 34-year automotive engineering career. He is a consultant to Tier One suppliers.

For more accounts of where Birmingham's leaders and residents were on Sept. 11, stay tuned for more in our Birmingham Reflects series or check out what residents already had to say.