BARTLESVILLE, Oklahoma -
The nation paused Tuesday to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed on September 11, 2001.
Here in Green Country, folks took a moment to remember the tragic day with an event where a 9/11 survivor spoke about the day that left a lasting impact on his life.
As the American flag flies high, hundreds in Bartlesville are remembering a day that forever changed America.
"It's just a building, but you lost part of yourself when it went down. I did anyway. A lot of us did," said Air Force veteran John Kiselak.
Kiselak said he had a hand in building the Twin Towers.
As a native New Yorker, he said the wounds from 11 years ago are still very fresh.
"Friends I lost, the twins not being there—it means a lot to me," Kiselak said. "Grown men don't cry, right? That's a lie. It's nice that people are coming together. I just don't want people to forget."
And that's exactly why a community group brought Brian Clark to speak in Bartlesville Tuesday night.
Clark is a 9/11 survivor.
"I knew in an instant it was terrorism. Once our building got hit, I knew it was terrorism," Clark said.
Clark worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower.
He was one of the handful of people above the point of impact who survived.
"For five seconds, our building just swayed one way six to eight feet, it felt like. Then for five to eight seconds, it came back to vertical. Then there was a little hop and all the steel realigned," Clark said.
Clark managed to save another person who was trapped under some rubble.
Four minutes after the two got out of the building, it came crashing down.
"I was in disbelief," Clark said. "I was really thinking, I can't believe that a steel structure is collapsing like that. It doesn't make sense."
Clark is retired now and spends his time speaking at events like this.
Brian Clark worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower.
Air Force veteran John Kiselak said he had a hand in building the Twin Towers.
Clark is retired now and spends his time speaking at events like this.
