MOSES LAKE - It's hard to think that it's been 11 years.

Tuesday marked the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, that, even 11 years later, continue to wrench our country's backbone.

Sept. 11, 2001, is a day that people will always remember where they were when they heard the news.

Think of July 20, 1969: Neil Armstrong's first steps on the moon. Or April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination.

There's little question that 9/11 ranks up there with those landmark dates.

Eleven years ago Tuesday, two hijacked planes struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, while a third hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

A fourth hijacked plane was retaken by civilians and landed near Shanksville, Penn.

Respondents from fire and police departments in both cities showed their mettle, while many of them gave their lives while trying to rescue survivors.

And the impact felt today from way back then: the Patriot Act, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the search for Al Quaida, are very much a piece of our day-to-day discourse.

Moses Lake memorialized the first responders Tuesday at a city hall ceremony.

"It's always good to recognize those officers, and I think it's appropriate that we pay homage to them," Moses Lake Mayor Bill Ecret said. "Regardless of how long ago the incident occurred, there's still going to be a very sensitive feeling for police officers."

Moses Lake Fire Chief Tom Taylor likened the tragedy to the Pearl Harbor bombing, which drew the U.S. into World War II.

"Today is about honoring people's memories, the victims of 9/11, as well as the tragedy itself," he said. "It's also a day to pay tribute and to honor our will to prevail. And I think it's important that we continue to remember this event in the history of the United States."