The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
REMEMBERING 9/11
Community gathers to honor those lost in terror attacks
Eighteen years ago, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks carried out in New York, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.
Today, artifacts from each of the three attacks rest in Eastlake’s Sept. 11 memorial, a solemn tribute to those who lost their lives nearly two decades ago.
On the anniversary of the attacks, community members gathered at the Boulevard of 500 Flags in Eastlake — next to the Sept. 11 memorial — to remember and reflect. Following a prayer led by the Rev. Donald Beaumont, pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church, Mayor Dennis Morley read a minute-by-minute record of events that took place on Sept. 11, 2001.
“This event brought our nation together and we need to get back to that kind of togetherness,” Morley said. “In the world we live in now, with such dividedness and mistrust, we all need to look at the lives and see the freedoms that we all enjoy each and every day, together.”
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose addressed the audience, highlighting the importance of unity.
“I feebly attempted, this morning, to explain to my 4-, 6- and 8-year-old daughters what this day meant to me,” LaRose said. “When they get older, I’ll have the opportunity to explain it to them maybe in a way that’s a little more blunt. But it’s important that we talk to young people about what this meant to us and what it continues to mean to us.”
Eastlake Fire Chief Ted Whittington shared some of the difficult decisions that first responders, leaders and all who were involved were required to make.
“Even though it’s 18 years later, we must remember that this morning, husbands woke up without their wives, wives woke up without their husbands, parents woke up without their children, children woke up without their parents,” Whittington added. “Sept. 11 is a day to be thoughtful — thoughtful of those that are battling illnesses or have succumbed to illnesses that they got from working down at the World Trade Center site.”
The chief mentioned that a 5-5-5-5 bell signal, which was wrung at the event as a tribute to the Sept. 11 first responders, signifies the death of a firefighter.
Eastlake Police Chief Larry Reik also addressed the audience, saying that he tries to use his time to speak not only about the terrorist attacks but also the response from individuals and the nation.
“I read often of people’s memories about the feeling of togetherness in this country on Sept. 12, 2001, how this horrible act seemed to make our differences smaller and our similarities greater,” Reik said. “It was not about what color you were, who you voted for or what initiative you supported. It was only about us.
“It is said that whoever is not forgotten lives forever,” Reik added. “If we do these things, then we can ensure the victims of the attacks and our fallen military members become immortal.”
Army veteran Gary Minadeo highlighted the military’s response to the attacks and the War on Terror.
He recalled that he was teaching at Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School on that day. A student told him that a plane had crashed into a tower in New York.
“I heard the very specific sound of jet fighters, two of them, flying over the lake to Cleveland,” Minadeo said. “At that moment, I knew the dome was instituted and we were at war.”
As a part of the Army recruiting command, Minadeo remembered the veterans who called him during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, willing to fight.
“It was the same on 9/11,” he said. “I could not walk down the street without those who knew me as a veteran saying ‘you’ve got connections, get me in this fight somehow, let me go do paperwork, let me go help in the hospitals.’
“(Safety forces and) everybody in America was ready at the moment. We are proud of that. It’s good because America is good. Because God has blessed America.”