Tom Walker, founder of The American Village in Montevallo, talked to Chilton Christian Academy students and staff on Thursday about the importance of history.

Walker was the speaker for the school’s program recognizing Patriot Day, the National Day of Service and Remembrance that occurs on Sept. 11 each year in memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks that killed 2,977 people.

“I commend your school for the example of commemmorating this day because it is important to our country,” Walker said to the many in attendance at the Victory Baptist Church sanctuary.

Walker said it is important for individuals to remember the day of the terrorist attacks so that it will remain a part of our nation’s collective history.

Walker said he remembers going into work the day of the attacks, and worrying about a daughter who was in school at Auburn at the time.

“I am scared because I don’t know what is going to happen,” Walker said he remembers thinking.

But Walker said words taken from Scripture (“Be not afraid”) and the national motto (“In God We Trust”) comforted him.

Walker said he was invited to the White House in 2002, a trip that made him realize that the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, who were able to keep 9/11 hijackers from crashing the plane into its intended targets, are examples of the people it has taken to keep our country great.

“On a day like this, it’s hard to know how we should observe it,” Walker said.

The speaker told a story about the first Thanksgiving, when the pilgrims, who had suffered much in the new land, debated how to mark their first year here. Some thought it should be a day of mourning, but instead the pilgrims chose to give thanks to God.

“That choice set a course for our country,” Walker said. “We should mark this day by committing ourselves to keeping our memory sharp. We need to know what it means to be an American.”

Close to 8:46, the time when the first hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center, CCA Principal Charles Gottshall asked those in attendance to observe a moment of silence to reflect on the tragedy.

The program ended with a rendition of “God Bless America.”