Published Sep 11, 2026 • Republicans of Wheeling Township
This evening ROWT, its members, and members of the public gathered at our office to reflect on the first anniversary of Charlie Kirk’s death. I recall how I first heard about it happening, who I was communicating with, the anger, the loss, and the shock and horror of it all. I recall the false hope that was created when I heard that Charlie had reached the hospital and was still alive.
It is one of those events in life that remain indelibly imprinted into your mind’s eye — forever.
Each of us has their own mind’s eye and can describe in detail their unique experience of that day. It is part of our collective consciousness.
It’s late, I’ve had a full day and I’m tired. But I also realize that when I wake up tomorrow my mind’s eye is immediately going to go back further in time. It is going to go back 25 years. Once again I am going to recall, in exquisite detail the shock, the horror, the false hopes, and the anger at the senseless loss on September 11.
I recall that in the days after 9/11 our country came together as one. It was truly unlike anything that I have ever seen. Our nation came together as a community. Each citizen looked at and treated each other fellow citizen they encountered as a valued member of our nation — even in traffic. I believe this collective experience was similar to the events after Pearl Harbor, but that pre-dates me. Hawaii was not our homeland. Hawaii was not yet a state, and that attack generally didn’t target citizens. In contrast, the attacks of 9/11 and against Charlie Kirk did.
As I pause to reflect, what perplexes me, almost beyond words, is where we are today as a nation and as a community. There are voices and conduct that mock the assassination of Charlie Kirk and which assert that America deserved 9/11.
I could have posted a simple tribute to First Responders and gone to bed. But that would be an altogether insufficient and unworthy tribute to them and to us. What I believe is a fitting tribute to the First Responders who selflessly laid down their lives on 9/11 is for us to once again find it within ourselves to embrace the profound spirit of unity and community that defined our nation in the wake of that tragedy.
The truest way to honor their sacrifice is to treat our fellow citizens with genuine value, kindness, and respect, looking past our differences to strengthen the bonds that connect us. Let us regain and advance that hope and resilience, working together to build a supportive community where we lift each other up every single day.
God bless our First Responders, God Bless America, and may God bless all of us.
John S. Saletta
Committeeman, Republicans of Wheeling Township