Its been 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Many can remember where we were when the planes came in. And for many, its the day everything changed.

This is especially true for local commercial photographer Brad Ziegler, who might have been one of the last people on top of the World Trade Center.

Watch Mike Duffy's video report below: From the World Trade Center to veterans: How 9/11 reshaped a photographer's life

Ziegler has documented the lives of hundreds of World War II veterans in remarkable, raw detail through his photographs. But it started with 9/11.

While the connection might not make sense at first, Ziegler took me back to that day and his remarkable story.

I was there on the 10th at 3:30 in the afternoon. That was our call time. And usually, wed have two or three of them back to back, and I was putting my gear sorry, Im going to get emotional. I was putting my gear together on the 11th when the first plane hit, Ziegler recalled.

Ziegler was working as an aspiring fashion photographer in New York City in 2001. He had been doing photo shoots on the observation deck of the World Trade Center on Sept. 10. The next morning, he watched on live TV as the planes tore through the twin towers.

I could look out my window or go to the front step of my apartment and see where the smoke was, when it eventually started heavily smoking, he said. For me, that meant look how close I was to it on top of the fact that I was supposed to be there in the afternoon.

Ziegler recalls seeing the raw moments in person and on television.

Seeing that explosion penetrate the building will never leave my mind, watching a rain of glass, he said. The other one that sticks in my mind, I think like anybody, there was no delay on the feed that I remember on the 'Today' show that was the most horrific thing Id ever seen.

In the days following the attack, he went back into Manhattan.

What I remember vividly is coming up the stairs at Lexington on the subway and seeing black ash floating through the air and looking down the street and there was not a car on the road, Ziegler said. It was a ghost town.

He says it would take him 20 years before he would finally be able to go back to Ground Zero.

There was no work in New York for months, Ziegler said. And it changed the trajectory of the path of my life. It ultimately is what brought me here to Michigan.

Zieglers career pivoted from fashion to photographing campaign-style images of rugged beauty. Ziegler explained to me that the HBO series Band of Brothers also came out in September of 2001, and it brought to the forefront the history of World War II veterans.

And for some reason, it struck me. And I though wow, it would be really amazing to go and photograph some of these guys. They have such incredible stories.

It made him want to put together a portrait series one day about World War II veterans.

I witnessed my generations Pearl Harbor. The best way I knew how to pay that back to their generation was to document them and photograph and donate my time and make sure their stories are told, so we could learn the lesson, Ziegler said.

After hearing a veteran on the radio in Michigan one day, Ziegler had the idea to get four World War II veterans on a working B-17 bomber and document their stories. Willow Run Airport and the Yankee Air Museum got the pilots and picked up the tab. Ziegler took the pictures. Hour Magazine printed the story.

We spent the day going through all of their stories, he said. We landed. They all hugged me and told me it was better than the day they came home from the war. I remained friends with them up until they passed.

Ziegler spent the next five years with Honor Flight Michigan taking pictures of hundreds of veterans as they got the chance to fly to Washington to experience in person the memorials honoring their service.

He says he often got to ask the veterans how the generations that came after could pay them back and he distinctly remembers one veterans answer.

And thats when he said learn the lesson. I said OK. A couple more times, I had other vets say something very similar. And finally, I wish I could remember his name, but he was sitting up front and he was leaning and I said OK, now I gotta ask: whats the lesson? And he just smirked at me and he said thats for you to figure out.

Ziegler what the lesson means for him.

For me, that lesson is to make sure that we dont repeat that history, to make sure that younger generations are prepared and to always, always remember September 11th.

Post-traumatic stress disorder from the events of 9/11, even though he wasnt on the ground when the towers came down. But he says traumatic events dont need to just be negative they can project people into something else,just like 9/11 did in his life.

Detroit has been a hub of manufacturing for the U.S. defense industry for nearly 100 years. The industry is growing again with a huge new investment and a connection to the auto world.

I was there Wednesday as General Dynamics Land Systems unveiled a major expansion during a ribbon-cutting on their $35 million investment at their world headquarters in Sterling Heights.

Watch Mike Duffy's video report below: General Dynamics opens $35M expansion at Sterling Heights headquarters

It was attended by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel, who set the tone for the day.

We do something incredible here in Macomb County, in Michigan. We make things that protect those who protect us, Hackel said.

General Dynamics Land Systems makes the Abrams tank and many other vehicles used by the U.S. Army and Navy, and many others used by American allies around the world.

Our nexus, Our central point is right here in Michigan, where we bring billions of dollars of investment to the state of Michigan and were very proud of that, said Scott Taylor, director of growth with General Dynamics.

I asked him about why the investment and expansion in Sterling Heights was needed.

Frankly, the U.S. Army has been looking to put more programs into a higher level of classification, so the secret level. So we had to some improvements to expand the amount of workspace that we that meet those standards for the U.S. Army, Taylor said.

He says General Dynamics is innovating new systems and are aggressively pursuing the next generation tank for the U.S. Army.

Were actually very proud of a nascent partnership with Ford that we have been working with and plan to reveal a little bit of that at AUSA here in October. But our partnership with them is helping them get into the defense sector and us to accelerate procedures in manufacturing as well as our engineering skills and capabilities, Taylor said.

I also asked the governor about this.

I think the autos are thinking about it the same way that we are. Its a natural extension of our expertise and our capabilities, and there is economic opportunity for us. And so, the fact that theyre moving as aggressively as we have been tells you that theres a lot going on in this space and Michigan is well positioned, Whitmer said.

Quentin Messer Jr. is the CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. He says the defense industry has a major impact on the local economy.

Well, it is one of the foundational sectors. You cant talk about Macomb County, Southeast Michigan and really the state of Michigan on both peninsulas without talking about the defense and aerospace industry, Messer said. One hundred sixty-six thousand folks are employed, $30 billion in economic impact and then over 5,000 contractors and suppliers support this vital sector in our state.

Michigan is also seeing impacts from the fighter jet program coming to Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Camp Grayling has also been selected as a premier test range for drone development.

There's another Flock camera controversy in metro Detroit, this time between a cannabis dispensary and the City of Madison Heights.

Watch Mike Duffy's report below 'No Flock Zone' Controversy brewing over Flock camera at Madison Heights dispensary

The dispensary took a stand against a Flock camera monitoring its parking lot and put up a big sign blocking the camera that read No Flock Zone."

They say the city threatened them with sanctions if they didnt take it down, and I went out there Tuesday to check it all out for myself.

The Flock camera is still up at the JARS Cannabis dispensary in Madison heights.

Its lens is pointed directly at the parking lot, and there is no longer a sign blocking the cameras view.

But a week prior, JARS Cannabis had taken a stand. According to their own statement: We share our communitys concern about increased surveillance, which is why we placed the No Flock Zone sign in front of the camera to block its ability to record.

It goes on to say in part, After we installed our No Flock Zone sign, the city issued a demand letter warning of sanctions if we did not remove it within 48 hours. Since receiving the letter, we have been in contact with city representatives and are working toward a resolution.

I tried to talk someone at the dispensary, but was told to refer to their Instagram statement.

The thing is, the dispensary was only allowed into Madison Heights after the company sued and the city settled. As part of the settlement agreement, the owner of the dispensary agreed put a Flock camera at the entrance of the parking lot and allow Madison Heights Police unhindered live access.

I reached out to multiple representatives with the city but have not heard back.

People who live nearby weighed in.

"I think that we are giving up too much for our safety. Were relinquishing too much of our privacy for the sake of safety. For me, its not worth it," Samantha Jackson said.

"I think the police should be able to monitor, thats fine. But the Flock feels really invasive," Marissa Cannon added.

Michigan State Sen. Jim Runestad introduced Senate Bill 1131 to limit the use and scope of data from traffic cameras.

Ive watched programs where police officers have been tracking primarily ex-girlfriends. They will text them and say, I know every date youve gone, everywhere you go. And they were using the Flock cameras. So theres got to be some guardrails," Runestad said. In Michigan it is the wild, wild west. They can do whatever they want to do. Theres no prohibition.

Theres I believe a legitimate potential law enforcement use that could really be impactful. But it has to be real-time, there has to be an investigation of a crime, you cant just willy nilly grab 20 billion bits of data which is happening nationally, and just keep that stuff indefinitely," he added.

Flock issued a statement reading in part, Flock is strongly in favor of common-sense regulation that preserves the ability of law enforcement to use these highly effective technologies, while requiring the sorts of safeguards and accountability mechanisms communities expect. We stand ready to be a resource to the legislature as they consider these important issues.