This weekend will mark an anniversary that should never be forgotten.

On Sunday it will be 15 years since the Sept. 11 attacks.

Fifteen years may not seem like a long time, but for those now becoming young adults, they were too young to grasp the full effect of what that attack on our nation meant. Their parents watched in horror as the feeling of security we enjoyed in America ended that day.

Prior to that day, we took for granted that large-scale terrorist attacks rarely, if ever, occur on American soil. Instances of terror attacks have been on the rise, sometimes committed by Americans. But consider the number of incidents that take place overseas compared to the number that occur in our country, even today.

So, when airplanes were crashed into the twin towers in Manhattan and the Pentagon outside Washington, on that fateful day, a sense of shock and disbelief swept over every American citizen.

Images of the attacks flooded television screens. Played over and over for weeks on end, the images were burned into our memories.

It is important for older generations to share the importance of what these attacks mean to the future of our nation.

Thankfully, no other attack of that magnitude has taken place on our native soil, but if history has taught us anything, it could happen again.

By including the events of Sept. 11 in the history lessons for those too young to remember, we ensure we are sharing the importance of remembrance.

Not in the hope that younger generations will recall the horror that took place, but so they understand what was lost, the changes that ensued and why these changes are so important to protect not only them, but their children’s children as well.