Photo By Jon Connor | Participants place flags in Memorial Field upon finishing the 2.5-mile 9/11...... read more read more
ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. – On a rainy Monday morning, the RIA community and members of the public gathered in Heritage Hall for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony, Sept. 11. The ceremony honored the first responders, service members and DOD Civilians who lost their lives in the attack, as well as those who have died in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
The ceremony, originally slated to be held outdoors at the RIA 9/11 Monument on Memorial Field, was moved indoors due to rain, but it didn’t put a damper on the crowd’s tribute to those who perished in one of the darkest days in the U.S.
At the opening of the event, members of the Rock Island Arsenal Fire and Police Departments honored their fallen brethren, placing a firefighter’s helmet and police dress hat on two tables at the front of the room in a spot of honor.
The ceremony also recognized the families of service members who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving. Two Gold Star families were honored -- Marie Nelson, Gold Star spouse of Army Pfc. David Wayne Derry, and Philip and Paula Steele, parents of Army Capt. Joshua Steele.
These families joined Maj. Gen. David Wilson, commanding general, U.S. Army Sustainment Command and senior mission commander of RIA, and Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Escobedo, ASC command sergeant major, in placing the ceremony’s commemorative wreath in the spot of honor.
Wilson, the event’s host and guest speaker, welcomed distinguished guests as well as a standing-room only crowd of RIA employees and community members.
“This community always does a great job in supporting the arsenal,” said Wilson. “You’ve done that again today and I cannot express how appreciative I am of your continued support.”
Recalling the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Wilson said it was particularly raw for him, as he was serving as an executive officer at the Training and Doctrine Command headquarters and was scheduled to travel to the Pentagon that morning, plans that were scrapped as their flight was cancelled.
“I realized on that day, the United States Army would be shaped by this event and our response to it,” said Wilson. “As a service member, seeing the Pentagon attacked changes your perspective.”
While the nation watched in horror that morning, uncertain as to why it was happening and wondering what might happen next, the courage and determination of first responders risking their own lives by running into flames and crumpled steel were captured on camera, fueling a national identity not weakened, but emboldened by the attacks.
“We saw that determination in police officers and firefighters who returned to the twisted steel and broken concrete slabs at ground zero [at the Twin Towers in New York City] and the Pentagon for months following the attack,” said Wilson. “We saw it in the millions of Americans across our country who raised their right hand and swore an oath to defend our constitution over the last 22 years, many of whom deployed multiple times, and in some cases spending over 15 months, 14 months or 12 months at a time in their lives in a global war on terror.”
The ceremony also featured an invocation by ASC Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Kevin Daul, a 21-gun salute fired outdoors but still very audible inside Heritage Hall, a moment of silence, and the playing of taps. The All Saints Catholic School Choir of Davenport, Iowa, sang the national anthem and “America the Beautiful.”
Earlier in the morning, nearly 100 people gathered for the 2.5-mile 9/11 Remembrance Walk, which started at Memorial Field parking lot at 6:30 a.m. The walk concluded with each participant placing bundles of 25 U.S. Flags in a Field of Honor at the RIA 9/11 Monument, each flag representing a life lost on 9/11 and in the following operations in Iraq and Afghanistan that went on for two decades.
The RIA 9/11 Memorial is a lasting tribute to those people who perished in the attacks and subsequent operations. It is a stone replica of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon that is illuminated every evening in memory of their sacrifice and for those who continue to lay their lives down in the name of freedom.
The memorial was created in 2010, as members of the Rock Island Arsenal military community carried more than 250 bricks weighing over 2,000 pounds on a 5-mile “Sharing the Burden” road march, symbolizing Soldiers’ responsibility to carry the load and memory of those who perished on 9/11.
This lasting memorial as well as the yearly remembrance walk and ceremony serve as an important formal reminder at RIA of the nation’s “we will never forget” ethos.
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2023 14:43 |
| Story ID: | 453345 |
| Location: | ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, ILLINOIS, US |
| Web Views: | 50 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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Remembrance Ceremony
