11 September, 2025 by Eric Dunkelberger

Today began the way it began the prior 23 years; I lowered the flag to half-staff just before sunrise. Today commemorates the 24th anniversary of Patriot Day, the day terrorists attacked the United States on our own soil on 11 September, 2001. They were able to bring down both towers of the World Trade Center and attacked the Pentagon. It could have been worse, but the passengers on another skyjacked airliner rebelled against their captors and miraculously were able to crash the plane into the ground in Pennsylvania. The act of terrorism cost the lives of just under 3000 people.

This was one of those events that everyone knows where they were when they first heard what was happening. I was in Wilmington, NC at work for a company that placed construction journeymen on construction jobsites across the US and overseas. I was the Human Resources Manager, getting reports of positions still open ready for placement when I first heard the news. The husband of our Client Assistant called her and told of a large plane that flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. We turned on the television in the break room to see what was happening. The airliner hit at 8:46am. At 9:03, a second airliner hit the South Tower and the realization hit us that this was no accident. We were under attack! Shortly later, the phone calls started. On that day, we had five or six construction sites on military bases. Apparently, the military also thought we were under attack and, in response, closed the bases to authorized personnel only. The workers were being escorted off base with their equipment. They called to find out what was going on. It was a long day, first answering the questions from our workers, then, that afternoon, the calls started coming in asking if we were sending people into the area for the search/recovery and clean-up.

The turning point was when the FDNY raised the American flag amidst the debris. That was a symbol of the durability of the American patriotism. Yes, we had lost almost 3000 people among the towers, the passengers, NYPD and FDNY and military personnel in the Pentagon. The stock market was closed. But, we were still strong and ready to go to work. We vowed that we would never forget, but, now, many of the kids college-aged and younger who weren’t born yet. Many have little idea of what happened that day 24 years ago!

That day, Charlie Kirk would have been seven years old. At 18 years old, he started Turning Point USA, an organization intent on bringing Conservative ideas to college campuses, dispelling the notion that Socialism was the only way. Along the way, he brought to campus his strong Christian faith. Twelve years later, he was credited with bringing a lot of college students to the polls to vote for Republicans and giving a major victory to President Trump in his second term. The youngest voters turned away from the Socialist values of the Democrat Party and away from the anti-Christian values they so fully espoused.

Yesterday, on another college campus, Utah Valley University, he was assassinated. The Utah Governor actually used the phrase, ‘political assassination’. I felt deflated when I heard, much like I felt when I saw the second plane fly into the tower or when Reagan was shot. The same way I felt a little over a year ago when President Trump was shot. I followed the news last night waiting for the investigation to lead to the shooter. I heard the vile rhetoric the Sewer Stream Media used to describe Charlie Kirk. I heard at 5pm when the House of Representatives called for a moment of prayer for him and his family, the Democrats wanted nothing but to jeer. It reminded me of the Democrat National Convention in 2012 when the Democrats actually booed the Lord three different times!

The rhetoric is off the walls! Democrat leaders are calling their constituents to fight. Charlie Kirk wasn’t violent. He won people to his side by listening to a divergent position, then offering the truth to counter their view. That’s what he was doing when he was shot and killed. I prayed for his wife, son and daughter. I prayed that someone at Turning Point would pick up his gauntlet and lead others to rescue students from the clutches of Socialism and evil (perhaps I repeat myself).

This morning, as I lowered my flag to half-staff, I thought of Turning Point also. Then, as I read the news, I saw stories of vigils on college campuses for Charlie and his family. I saw vigils on the campus of Liberty University, the University of Alabama and Notre Dame There were others. Perhaps this is their turning point!

There has been a debate going on: is Christianity on the rise or the decline? I think it’s on the rise! It’s just my personal observation. I’ve seen a lot of mass baptisms. I’ve seen huge alter calls. I think that, as evil reveals itself more and more, the flight to Christianity is obvious. It will rise even more!