ENMU, Cannon remember 9/11

Sep. 13—On Sept. 10, 2001, Tommie Milam sprang out of his bed in the middle of the night with a dream of his son being in the afterlife. Shaken by the dream, Milam said he dismissed it as nothing more than a nightmare.

Until the next day.

That's when Milam was informed that his son. U.S. Army Maj. Ronald Milam, had died in a terrorist attack on the Pentagon, one of 3,000 victims of 9/11 still remembered after 22 years.

Tommie Milam said he sees now that the dream was "a message" from God and he has been listening to the Lord ever since then. He said despite the years, he is still healing from the loss of his son but believes it was in God's plans.

"It's not easy," Milam said. "It's not easy when you lose a child, because you expect them to go after you, not before you."

About 70 Eastern New Mexico University faculty and staff, along with members of the Portales City Council, held their heads low in solemn silence at the ballroom in the Campus Union Building on Monday as part of ENMU's first 9/11 memorial event.

The event honored the life of ENMU alumnus Ronald Milam, along with others affected by the tragedy.

"9/11 was one of those days that changed who we are as a nation, it changed our lives forever. We now take this opportunity to remember all those that we lost," ENMU President James Johnston said. "This year, we take a moment to especially remember one of our own, Maj. Ron Milam. He was a cherished member of the Milam family, certainly a cherished member of the Greyhound family."

While earning his bachelor's degree at ENMU in 1991, Milam was a key player on the basketball teams from 1989 to 1991. After graduation Milam was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army, where he served 10 years.

Milam received many awards in his military career, including the Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, The National Defense Service Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal.

He was in the Pentagon when an airliner hijacked by terrorists crashed into the building.

The ENMU event Monday included several guest speakers, who addressed the tragedy of 9/11 and honored Milam's legacy. Milam's family received recognition for Milam's achievements, presented by New Mexico state Sen. Stuart Ingle and the ENMU Board of Regents.

Victoria Carman, ENMU's scholarship and stewardship coordinator, said the 9/11 memorial event has historically been put together by the city of Portales at the James Polk Stone Community Bank since the tragedy. She said the JP Stone Bank was unable to make the event happen this year. ENMU was offered the opportunity.

Carman said the event wouldn't have been possible without the collaboration between the staff of ENMU and the Portales City Councilor Oscar Robinson.

In 2001, ENMU established the Maj. Ronald D. Milam Memorial Scholarship, Carman said, to assist ENMU students and student-athletes who exemplified Milam's values and work ethic.

"You really get a glimpse of the light he (Milam) brought to the campus and the community. There's those extraordinary individuals that long after we lose them in life, their legacy and what they've done lives on and I think that's reflective in this ceremony," Johnston said.

The scholarship has directly assisted 14 students, totaling $35,8000 in scholarships. Carman said the ENMU Foundation Board of Directors designated an additional $25,000 to the scholarship to make it a permanent endowed fund in February 2023.

Cannon remembers through action

Earlier Monday, at Cannon Air Force Base, U.S. Air Force airmen joined Curry County officials in a 9/11 memorial ceremony that expressed honor and remembrance with action.

Among the nearly 3,000 Americans killed in the attack were 343 firefighters and 78 police officers, Senior Airman Aidan Pilkington, who acted as master of ceremonies for the memorial, reminded the audience at the opening ceremonies.

Later, Kristian Price, Curry County's community programs coordinator, reminded listeners that the memory of the 2001 attacks is so strong people remember what they were doing when they heard about them.

The keynote speaker for Monday's opening ceremony was Master Sgt. Graeme Clouden, who was living in the Bronx, N.Y., when he learned about the first crash on Sept. 11, 2001.

Mostly, he said, he remembers the reaction of the people he knew. Mostly he saw disbelief among his friends that a disaster of that magnitude could happen so close to where they lived, but he remembered others "breaking down."

He remembered going near the World Trade Center site as a volunteer a little later in the day, thinking "We're at war" and seeing people still "covered in dust" and wandering in confusion after the collapse of the Twin Towers. He remembered that many who volunteered to work on the site in the aftermath of the Twin Towers collapse, died of cancer.

He remembered the "confusion and fear" of the day and said "none will forget" that time.

Following the ceremony, helmeted volunteer airmen in combat uniforms and firefighters in full firefighting gear walked to Cannon's flight tower and received instructions — climb the nine flights of stairs, collect a victim's name and bring it down to the base of the tower, where it will be collected and read out loud.

Volunteers, including representatives from the Clovis High School Student Council, read the names aloud and placed them on a bulletin board as they were delivered.

The stair-climbers made the round trip up to seven times, and their drawn faces shining with sweat showed the strain of the later climbs and descents.

Many of the younger airmen making repeated climbs were not even born Sept. 11, 2001. One said he only remembered learning about the day as "a tragedy." An airman nearby volunteered he was too young to remember anything about Sept. 11, 2001.

Clovis Police Capt. Roman Romero, standing nearby, said he was 31 when he heard the news.

"I was getting ready for work," he said, and he remembered his sadness and frustration from the day's events.

Romero remembered how Americans' confidence in their safety was shaken that day.

After 20 years, however, Romero said, the key lesson is that "we're still here and that's all that matters."

Later, Romero made the nine-flight round trip himself.

Tech. Sgt. Anthony Chiappone pulled off the face mask attached to his self-contained breathing apparatus tank as he emerged from the flight tower.

Asked why he wore the mask and tank, along with full gear, he said, "That's what the firefighters in the World Trade Center were wearing" as they climbed stairs in the doomed towers, many never to return.