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Show A5 September 11 in the eyes of an LDS missionary BY ANNE SQUIRE New Writer PHOTOS COURTESY OF URBANPEEK Museum A4 tect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker, the memorial consists of a peaceful tree-filled plaza and two reflecting pools on the exact footprints of the towers that once stood, the reflecting pools will be fenced by a bronze parapet with the names of the 2983 victims, that died on that day, engraved on it, with cascading water beneath it, representing the continuity of their memory. The designers planted the plaza with more than 400 swamp white oak trees, as they are natural reminders of life and rebirth. The September 11 Memorial is expected to become one of the most popular attractions in New York, with up to 10,000 visitors a day. More than 66,000 people applied for visitor passes to the memorial in the first three days of reservations opening. A private ceremony for victims' families is being held at the site on September 11, the 10th anniversary of the attacks. It opens to the public on September 12. Only a few miles away from the Pentagon, a small group of missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints held a meeting in a park. For Brad Plothow, one of those missionaries then, now UVU's Director of Publications and Marketing, it was a morning that was similar to many mornings on the mission, until he received the news that a plane had been flown into the Pentagon. "It was like any other day until a couple from the mission office came and found us and said 'Everybody has to get back to their apartments, there's been an attack,' " Plothow said. Plothow and his companion headed back to their apartments. Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are not allowed to watch TV, or listen to the radio, in an effort to maintain their focus. However, Sept. 11 was an exception to the rule. "We were allowed to listen to the radio to get the gist of what was going on, but everything was so frantic that we only got pieces," Plothow said. "I never saw video footage until months later." Plothow and his companion were allowed to go out and teach shortly thereafter. He said that he really didn't understand all that had happened that day. He remembers a moment when this was the case. "I was sitting down to dinner with a family there and they said 'This kind of changes things. This is kind of a Pearl Harbor moment.' That didn't really set in for me, I knew it was a big deal, but I didn't understand the implication of it," Plothow said. "I think I was a little insulated from it, to be honest. I sort of wished that I had been able to understand the scope better to be able to deal with the people in that area having a little more information and context. It's definitely not the kind of thing that you want to have effect you to the core. I was pretty insulated from the trauma." About one out of every three people in the LDS ward in Oakton had clearance to the Pentagon, so Plothow heard many stories in the aftermath of the attacks. At another din- ner appointment, this time with a man who worked in the Pentagon, Plothow learned that their host's office had actually been hit by the plane. "Thankfully he had been in a meeting on the other side of the Pentagon," Plothow said. Like many other Americans, Plothow saw the surge in patriotism, especially more flags being flown in windows and on cars. But to him the most miraculous change happened in the attitudes of people. much "People were more willing to help after that...they were more willing to slow down instead of buzzing about with all of the different demands that they had. People were more thoughtful," he said. Despite the miraculous change, Plothow believes that Americans have reverted, forgetting the lessons they had learned in the days following Sept. 11. "It's really unfortunate," Plothow said. "I can tell that in n the ten years since, we are consumed with pettiness and politics and all the things that didn't matter on 9/11. I wish that we could get back to that point without having to have something that dramatic shake us up." PHOTO COURTESY OF STOCKICHNG PHOTOS COURTESY OF URBANPEEK fast Internet for your college life. $2 9 9 rT 5 ,wi1 • up to 12 mbps • 9-month contract • no phone line required call... 877-645-4479 click... centurylink.com/purecollege &1%1 Cent ury Li n kTM `Offer ends 10/31/11. Offer available to qualifying residential customers. PURE rate of $29.95/mo. requires a 9-month term agreement (after which the rate reverts to the then-current standard rate), and applies to up to 12 Mbps service. An additional monthly fee (including professional installation, if applicable) and a shipping and handling fee will apply to customers modem or router. General — Services and offers not available everywhere. 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