The Day The World Came to Town - 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland

• Jim DeFede

When thirty-eight jetliners bound for the United States were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada on September 11, 2001, due to the closing of United States airspace, the citizens of this small community were called upon to come to the aid of more than six thousand displaced travellers. For the better part of a week, nearly every man, woman, and child in Gander and the surrounding smaller towns stopped what they were doing so they could help.