Former Waukesha Mayor Recalls Reaction After Sept. 11

On Sept. 11, 2001, then-Mayor Carol Lombardi was in her office, taking phone call after phone call from residents wondering what Waukesha would do if Chicago was evacuated.

Everyone was shocked after hijacked planes flew into the towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and crashed in a Pennsylvania field that morning. People were worried, and wondering what would be next.

“That was the most scary experience I have ever had in the eight years I was mayor,” said Lombardi on Monday.

Lombardi responded by holding a community prayer vigil at Carroll College. In the years that followed, Lombardi saw the impact the terrorist attacks planned by Osama bin Laden had at the local government level.

More recently—Lombardi retired in 2006—the former mayor worked with others in Waukesha County to bring a Sept. 11, 2001, remembrance event to the community. As the years passed, so did the patriotism and togetherness that felt immediately after thousands were killed in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

Now, 10 years later, Lombardi reflected on bin Laden’s death.

“I am really pleased that it was with U.S. troops that it was able to be accomplished,” Lombardi said.

There was a strong loyalty to the nation and Lombardi said she hopes bin Laden’s death will renew the loyalty shown for the year after the terrorist attacks.

“I am hoping that people will try to remember the fear and the devastation and that there will be a renewed kind of effort to come together to fight terrorism,” Lombardi said.