City of Bluefield conducts 9/11 ceremony
Sep. 12—BLUEFIELD — Prayers and thoughts were offered Monday to remember the day 22 years ago when the United States was attacked, thousands of lives were lost and millions of Americans came together to mourn and resolve to stand strong.
The City of Bluefield conducted a 9/11-Patriot Day Ceremony at the Bluefield Arts Center to honor the people who were lost on Sept. 11, 2001. when the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D.C. were attacked by terrorists using three hijacked airliners. The ceremony also honored the passengers of a fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, whick crashed outside of Shanksville, Penn.
This airliner crashed after the passengers learned about the hijackers' intentions and stormed the cockpit. It was later determined that the terrorists' target was either the White House or the United States Capitol.
City Manager and retired Colonel Cecil Marson thanked the city firefighters, police and other residents attending the ceremony.
Twenty-two years ago Monday, there was an event which completely changed the trajectory of the United States and the lives of Americans, Marson said. While many in the art center's theater could remember where they were and what they were doing when the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 started, others such as the young members of the Bluefield High School JROTC do not share those memories.
The teamwork which emerged across the nation that day was probably the best example for young people today and for the city, Marson said. Marson remembered attending class at Ft. Bragg, NC when he learned that America was under attack.
"I'm deeply appreciative of everybody who showed up here today," Marson said. "I'm extremely thankful for our firefighters and police officers back there who suit up every day and take care of us."
The events of 9/11 illustrate the risks firefighters, police and other first responders take every day when they report for duty, he said.
After the invocation was given by Minister Treyon Simmons and the National Anthem was performed by Nicole Smith, members of the Bluefield High School JRTOC conducted the Presentation of Colors ceremony as well as the Pledge of Allegiance.
The ceremony's keynote speaker, Command Sgt. Major (CMS) Rusty Lane, was a military police officer who has served around the world, Marson said.
Lane said he speaks to both high school and college students about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but many were not around for that day. In contrast, people who lived through historic events such as the 9/11 attacks and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy remember what they were doing when they heard the news.
Lane and everyone else in the military who witnessed the events of 9/11 knew the nation would respond to the terrorist attacks, and that response was going to involve them.
"We all knew it wouldn't be long now," Lane recalled. "We all knew we were going to be somewhere." He soon learned that his unit could be going to Iraq. Soldiers were being rotated around the world.
People back in America started seeing changes to their everyday lives as well.
"The biggest thing I think of when I think of 9/11 are all the things that have become normal for us, Lane said. "What did the terrorists take away from us? A lot of innocence, a lot of our rights. A lot of our constitutional, god-given rights were stolen. Before we could walk onto a plane with a water bottle, we could walk with our loved ones to the door of the plane, and see them off."
Now people boarding an airliner have to take off their shoes and undergo searches, Lane said. Many of these changes have become normal for Americans. Thousands of people were killed during the 9/11 attacks and afterward during military actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and other parts of the world, and historians are struggling to write about this period in American history.
"So I think this memorial today serves as a remembrance for the folks who were lost," Lane said. "Really, we owe them something."
Capt. Adrian Conner and firefighter Brendan Warden of the Bluefield Fire Department conducted a Last Call Bell ceremony and a prayer for firefighters.
"The men and women of today's fire service are confronted with a more dangerous work environment than ever before," Conner said. "We are forced to continually change our strategies and tactics to accomplish our tasks. Our methods may change, but our goals remain the same as they were in the past, to save lives and protect property, sometimes at a terrible cost. This is what we do, this is our chosen profession, this is the tradition of the firefighter."
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
