POTSDAM -- Clarkson University marked the 15th anniverssary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The ceremony included remarks from former Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Colonel Gary A. Rosenberg, U.S. Army, retired, at the school's World Trade Center Memorial.

"To be in the presence of these two great Americans today - Secretary McHugh and retired Colonel Rosenberg - was truly amazing," Assemblywoman Russell, D-Theresa said following the ceremony.

Secretary McHugh, who was representing the North Country in the United States House of Representatives, said he was near the 14th Avenue bridge driving to his office on Capitol Hill when he heard an explosion and saw a plume of smoke about a quarter of a mile away, not immediately aware he had seen and heard a plane being crashed into the Pentagon by terrorists.

He pointed out 3,000 lives were lost that day in Washington, D.C., New York City and a field in rural Pennsylvania.

"Those scars will never fully heal. We honor their memories and pray for the comfort of their families and loved ones. But on a day of so much pain, it was also a day when heroes were born," Secretary McHugh pointed out, reflecting on the work and sacrifice of first responders who answered the call that day.

He noted 15 years after the attack new buildings now stand on the parcels that once housed the debris of the World Trade Center and brave men and women continue to go into harm's way to fight for our freedom.

Rosenberg, who served as the garrison commander at Fort Drum from 2012-2015, said he was coming out of a meeting on hiw post where he was stationed at the tim with a special forces unit and saw the televised reports of the first plane hitting the World Trade Center tower.

"When the second plane hit, we were pretty sure what going on," he said, recalling the base immediately went on lock down and there was a traffic jam outside the gates as soldiers tried to get on post.

"We were confident the United States was going to respond, and special ops began to plan. 9/11 turned my life upside down, as it did for most service members," Colonel Rosenberg said.

He went into Afghanistan later in 2001, helping to free cities from the control of the Taliban. In April 2002, he was deployed to start training soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, work that would continue for the next five years. "I bounced back and forth between Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

The steel used in the Clarkson memorial came from the 55th floor of the World Trade Center's south tower and was obtained through the assistance of a Clarkson alumnus who helped lead the cleanup in New York City.

Four graduates of Clarkson University - Peter A. Klein, Paul R. Hughes, Richard J. O'Connor and R. Mark Rasweiller - died in the attack on the World Trade Center.

Clarkson University President Tony Collins noted in just a few short years students will be on campus that weren't alive on Sept. 11, 2001, but he said it will be important to continue the remembrance ceremony well into the future.