John T. Natter set to speak at Patriot Day

There are many lessons to be learned from the terrorist attacks on America that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, but one is paramount, according to U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (Ret.) John T. (Jack) Natter.

“Always be vigilant, and don’t take your liberties for granted,” said Natter, now an attorney and a member of the Hoover City Council. 

“There are people who don’t cherish our liberties the way we do and don’t believe in the freedoms we have and would like to see them curtailed,” he added.

Natter will help commemorate the 15th anniversary of 9/11 when he serves as speaker on Sunday, Sept. 11, as the cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills pause to remember that day during a combined Patriot Day ceremony. 

Beginning at 8:30 a.m., Mountain Brook Mayor Terry Oden, Fire Chief Chris Mullins and Police Chief Ted Cook will join Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer, Vestavia Hills Mayor Butch Zaragoza and other members of the cities’ police and fire departments to welcome guests at the intersection of Hoyt Lane and Oak Street in Crestline Village.

The ceremony will take place next to the Sept. 11 memorial outside the Mountain Brook fire station. The memorial, a 1,305-pound H-beam from the former World Trade Center site, was dedicated on Patriot Day in 2013. 

Mullins, who became chief following the retirement of former Chief Robert “Zeke” Ezekiel, said the cities discussed the possibility of hosting the event on another day this year since Sept. 11 falls on a Sunday, but decided against it. “We felt it was important to reflect on that day,” he said. 

Patriot Day is important “because the next generation will learn from it,” Natter said. “Hopefully, they will ask their parents why are we doing this and what happened. They can learn a lesson from the past and carry it forward.”

Natter grew up in Trussville and Homewood, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1962 and retired from the Navy in 1998 after service on active duty and in the reserves.

Like most Americans, Natter recalls “very vividly” where he was when he heard about the attacks — driving to work downtown on I-65. 

He said his “immediate concern” was his three daughters, two of whom were in the Navy and one of whom worked for the FBI in San Francisco. Natter’s younger brother, U.S. Navy Admiral Robert J. Natter, was serving as Commander of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.

It was a shock for Natter when he heard about the attack on the Pentagon, where he had recently worked. 

“The office I occupied about two years earlier… was right above the ones where the plane hit,” he said. “There were a lot of personal emotions, because I knew a lot of people involved.”

In fact, Natter learned later he had served at the Pentagon with at least one of the passengers killed on the airliner that was flown into the facility.

Immediately after 9/11, Natter returned to duty for a few weeks with his unit at a U.S. Navy headquarters in London, England, serving as Deputy of Resources and Readiness. 

“It was a busy time,” he said.

Patriot Day rotates each year between the three cities. The host city, explained Mullins, is in charge of organizing the main details, while the other cities provide personnel and equipment. As in years past, Vestavia Hills will provide the large American flag set to be raised above the crowd using ladder trucks. 

Area residents, as well as off and on-duty firemen and police officers, are invited to attend.

The event will honor those lost in the attacks during a 45-minute program that will include a wreath laying, a bell ceremony and a moment of silence at the exact time two airliners struck the World Trade Center towers in New York.

Events like 9/11 are important “because they had an impact on our history, our lives, our children and our future,” Natter said. “They impact how we go forward. Hopefully, we learn from some of these incidents and they will never be repeated.”

In his remarks at Patriot Day, Natter said he will ask attendees “to remember where they were (on 9/11) and ask them what they’ve done to remind their children of what occurred and ask them why the United States is in the state of preparedness it is in today.”