Never forget
9/11 ceremony evokes emotions on 20th anniversary of attacks
Local veterans, their families and others gathered together at the Global War on Terrorism Memorial near the Tuolumne Veterans Memorial Hall on Saturday to remember and pay their respect to the many lives lost 20 years earlier on Sept. 11, 2001.
Aaron Rasmussen, state officer with the Veterans of Foreign Wars who served in the Iraq War and helped create the memorial in Tuolumne, rang a bell for the fallen and began with a tally of passengers on each aircraft used in the terrorist attacks.
Rasmussen’s voice trembled with emotion, as did most others who spoke that morning.
Michael Roberson, of Twain Harte, led the opening prayer, quoting from the book of Lamentations in the Bible and lamented the loss of innocent lives, the fallen and the “8,000 service members who gave their lives to prevent alQaida from coming back to our shores.”
“We all still live in the shadow of that difficult day,” Roberson said. “The deeper the darkness, the greater the light shines in the end.”
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jill Main-paterson, 43, of Twain Harte, told the crowd that her memory of that day was of crying in disbelief and holding her three young children in her front yard.
Coleen Burgess, 69, of Tuolumne, remembered it was a gray day, “so it was appropriate.” She turned on the TV and saw the second tower of the World Trade Center in New York get hit.
Burgess said when she went to work that day, she and her coworkers “just stood around and didn’t get anything done all day.”
Memorial co-creator Frank Smart, 81, of Columbia, recalled his service in the Vietnam War and empathized with the veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. He stated the military force that fought was “fine, brave and resolute.”
“They kicked ass and took
names, they hurt al-qaida,” he said. “They were told to subdue the enemy, not to eliminate.”
Smart mentioned that the same policy was used in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. He quoted French statesman Georges Clemenceau, saying “War is too important to be left to the generals.”
He recalled seeing the Russian T-54 tanks in Saigon in 1975 at the fall of Saigon and said, “We did not leave in honor, we left our POWS there.”
“I understand what this generation is going through,” he said. “Women and men still suffer from PTSD. They are stressed out and angry. Some are still angry about Vietnam.”
Smart called on veterans to seek help from the Bible and the VA. He said since the older generations of veterans were on their way out, it was time for the younger ones to “step up,” referring to keeping the VFW membership and support going.
A small table was set up to the left of the memorial where a service uniform was laid out surrounded by 13 glasses of beer for the 13 service members who were killed in a suicide attack at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan on Aug. 26.
Thirteen black starshaped helium-filled balloons were released one by one as Rasmussen read the name of each service member killed.
Sept. 11 artifacts procured by Frank Smart from the Pentagon, the Twin Towers and and the crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, were on display in a glass case at the memorial.
Attendees were treated to a barbecue and music by the Rusty Rockers after the ceremony.
There was a bounce house for the children. Hats were sold to raise funds for Sonora Vets Helping Vets and patriotic embroidered, crocheted and needlepoint items created by Barbara Persson, of Tuolumne, were available for purchase in a fundraiser to help veterans.