Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Dalton Smith | Thomas Pontillo, of Erie, Pa., pays tribute to a Flight 93 memorial display in...... read more read more
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SHANKSVILLE, Pa. – Thousands of Americans – including service members, veterans, political figures and civilians – gathered at the Flight 93 Memorial Sunday, Sept. 11, to honor the victims of 9/11.
“Ten years of emotion just came rushing in when I saw the names written on that wall,” said Congressman Mark Critz as he fought back tears during the Flight 93 National Memorial Service. “It’s just a field. It’s always been a field, until Sept. 11, when it became a field of honor.”
While the memorial ceremony began promptly at 9:40 a.m., visitors continued to pour through the gates to enter the memorial site on the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The line of cars was so long that it stretched from the memorial parking lot to the new park entrance, which stood a couple miles away. Dozens of Marines helped park rangers direct traffic. Military security forces stood on top of the entryway of the memorial field surveying the landscape. Army Reserve soldiers and other service members watched and listened to dignitaries honoring the victims, survivors and the military who rose to action after the attacks.
Even as the speakers finished their homilies and news crews packed their equipment, lines of visitors still stretched toward the parking lots, waiting to pay their respects to the first warriors against the war on terrorism.
Since the plane attacks 10 years ago, more than 200,000 Army Reserve Soldiers have been called to active duty to fight that very war. This makes up 10 percent of the 2 million total troops who have served overseas as a result of the attacks. Among the first of those Reserve soldiers was Lt. Col. Jeremy Crist, now the commander of the North Central Information Operations Center based in Coraopolis, Pa.
In November of 2001, Crist, a captain at the time, deployed to Afghanistan with the 542nd Quartermaster Company, based in Erie, Pa. In addition to its own soldiers, the quartermaster company was joined by countless volunteers eager to support their fellow service members.
“Being from Pennsylvania, it meant a lot to come here and support people of Pennsylvania, the nation and all those affected by 9/11,” said Crist, a native of Erie, Pa.
Adam Schoops, a retired Army sergeant, came in his uniform to show his support. “I was just amazed by people coming up to me, in tears, to give me a hug and just say ‘thanks,’” Schoops said. “My time is done in the military, but I really wanted to put the uniform on again and come out here and represent the uniform and how awesome it was to be Soldier … fighting for my country.”
Schoops said the 9/11 attacks truly changed the nature of his service, believing it showed America why soldiers choose to fight, just as the passengers of Flight 93 chose to fight.
“They engaged in that battle armed only with the knowledge that they were right,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett about the 40 men and women who voted to retake the plane from the terrorists. “It is up to us to finish their journey.”
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2011 12:00 |
| Story ID: | 76890 |
| Location: | SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 273 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Communities, service members honor 10-year memorial in Shanksville, by SSG Michael Crawford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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