This week, we mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. We remember the collective horror we all felt as the world watched the events unfold, seeing the destruction and lives lost in real time. And in The Salvation Army, we remember the collective action that took place in the days and months that followed—the thousands of officers, employees and volunteers who stepped in to help. 

On this episode of the podcast, we’re going across Canada—from Newfoundland and Labrador to Vancouver—and to the heart of Ground Zero in New York City, for an inside look at the Army’s 9/11 response. We’ll hear the stories of four people who were part of that response:

• Claude Elliott, mayor of Gander, N.L., at the time, who was instrumental in the town's response when 38 planes were grounded there (read the full Q&A with Elliott);
• John Maxwell, a passenger whose plane was grounded in Gander, who spent several days at the Salvation Army church in nearby Lewisporte, N.L.;
• Major Lynn Cummings, a Canadian Salvation Army officer who served at Ground Zero in October 2001; and 
• John McEwan, a Salvationist who assisted grounded passengers in Vancouver and later led the Army's relief efforts at the "Taj Mahal" at Ground Zero when operations concluded in May 2002.

Listen here:

For more episodes of the Salvationist podcast, visit salvationist.ca/podcast. The transcript for this episode is available here for the deaf and hard of hearing. If you would like to get the news delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our weekly email newsletter at salvationist.ca/newsletter.