Photo By Avery Schneider | More than 100 Soldiers assigned to the New York Army National Guard's 1st Battalion,...... read more read more
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New York, NY — New York Army National Guard Soldiers honored the victims of the September 11 terror attacks and their fallen comrades in the Global War on Terror with a 9.11 mile ruck march through Manhattan on Saturday.
On September 11, 2001, Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment were among the first military forces at Ground Zero, supporting New York City police and firefighters after the twin towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed.
Even before the orders were issued, they had rallied at the historic Lexington Avenue armory.
“Times were very, very different. But at the same time somewhat the same,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Whaley, commander of the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment. He was a 24 year old infantry officer in the battalion’s headquarters company at the time, and responded to 9/11.
“Nobody had to be called. We didn’t need to use our alert rosters. Everybody just showed up. It’s call of duty reality. People just knew to be here,” he said.
When the call came again twenty years later to honor the memory of the 2,977 lives lost on 9/11, no one had to be ordered. 117 Soldiers showed up voluntarily, though more would have come.
“We turned people away because we wanted to make sure that the family members [at Ground Zero] had their time downtown. We didn’t want to take the stage by any means. We limited it and still had an overflow of people,” Whaley said.
With battalion colors and the American flag held high at the front of their formation, the Soldiers set off in the darkness of the early morning.
As they crossed midtown, passing ambulances and police cars flashed blue and red lights in recognition of their fellow first responders. As they marched down the West Side Highway, early morning joggers and bikers stopped to capture the moment on their cell phones and call out messages of motivation.
“It means everything,” said 2nd Lt. Olano Gayle, a platoon leader assigned to the 69th’s Bravo Company. “Walking by, seeing the people videoing, clapping, just looking, I felt a great sense of pride.”
When the Soldiers returned to the armory, a moment of silence was observed at 8:46 a.m., the time the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center, and a wreath was placed at the unit’s memorial to its 19 Soldiers who were killed in action during the Global War on Terror in Iraq.
For Soldiers like Gayle who represent the newest generation of the unit – too young to fully remember the tragic events of 20 years prior, but inspired by them to serve today – the ruck march and memorial serves an important purpose: keeping the memory of 9/11 alive. It’s why the battalion’s leaders intend to make it an annual tradition.
“I think it’s very important that we bring [young Soldiers] and walk them through the footsteps that their superiors and their leaders walked through before,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jason Zeller, the 69th’s senior noncommissioned officer and a 9/11 veteran.
“I think it’s important they hear the story from us.”
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2021 21:19 |
| Story ID: | 405044 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 560 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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