‘Humanity at its best’: Gander remembered on 25th anniversary of 9/11

Advertisement 1 This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Breadcrumb Trail Links HomeAtlantic CanadaNewfoundland & LabradorNewsCanada ‘Humanity at its best’: Gander remembered on 25th anniversary of 9/11 “On the days following September 11, 2001, while most of the world looked on in horror at unspeakable atrocities, I witnessed something different: the deepest act of kindness and generosity imaginable in Newfoundland,” said Raphael Fusco, who was just 17 when his plane landed in Gander on 9/11 Author of the article: By Nicholas Mercer Published Sep 11, 2026 5 minute read The Ennis Sisters were just one of the acts who helped remember 9/11 on the 25th anniversary of the event in Gander on Sept. 11. PHOTO BY NICHOLAS MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Article content Perhaps Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham put it best when reflecting on Sept. 11, 2001. Article content “September 11th began by showing us humanity at its worst,” he told the crowd gathered at the Gander Community Centre 25 years later. Article content Article content “In the hours and days that followed, places like Gander reminded us of humanity at its best.” Article content Wakeham spoke those words in front of a capacity crowd as the Newfoundland town, Canada and the world commemorated 9/11, the lives lost in the tragedy and the response of the province in the face of what should have been insurmountable odds. Article content Article content Thirty-eight planes landed at Gander International Airport, and 6,600 passengers and crew almost doubled the population of the central Newfoundland town. Planes also landed in St. John’s, Stephenville, Deer Lake and Happy Valley-Goose Bay. Article content What came next was something extraordinary and, depending on who you ask, completely in line with this province and her people. Article content On that day and in the days that followed, people in Gander gave what they could when they were asked without question. Article content They gave their shirts, their telephones and, in some cases, their cars, doing it because they could, and because it was what was needed. Article content “What happened here was extraordinary because the people doing it didn’t think it was extraordinary,” said Wakeham. “They thought it was what we were supposed to do.” Article content Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham delivered remarks on behalf of the province at the 25th anniversary of Gander on Sept. 11. PHOTO…