‘Take time to reflect’: Chinese-American serviceman recalls September 11 on 20th anniversary

Wilem Wong is a US military veteran who was serving in Afghanistan in 2011 when Osama bin Laden was killed in nearby Pakistan. Today, Wong vividly remembers what happened 20 years ago on September 11, when members of bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network flew planes into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Centre and other locations. Wong had worked in the South Tower about two years before the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people including dozens of Wong’s former colleagues. The veteran of nearly 30 years of service in the US Army Reserves admits that the 2001 attacks still haunt him. “After all these years, you just maybe have to take the time to reflect on it, and just be honest with your emotions,” he said. “You just have to work through it sometimes.”