Photo By Cpl. Katherine Keleher | Marines listen to Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, the commanding general of Regional Command...... read more read more
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CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan – Hundreds of service members aboard Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, attended a memorial ceremony to reflect upon the tragic events and lives lost on September 11, 2001.
Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan, commanding general of Regional Command Southwest and II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), served as the guest of honor and delivered a speech about how he wants to remember the occasion.
“This is who we are. This is what America is made of,” said Toolan, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., during his remarks. “It’s not people who are going to cower because they are afraid. America is made up of millions of raw boned, fire-breathing freedom fighters.
“As President Bush, on the evening of the attack, said: ‘Today our fellow citizens, our way of life, our freedom came under attack. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they can’t touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they can’t dent the steel of American resolve. The search is underway for those who are behind these evil acts.’ And guess what? We were true to that word. In fact, some of you may know, this command delivered Osama Bin Laden to his final resting place. We follow through with our word.”
Those in attendance of the ceremony were moved by not only the speech, but by being given the opportunity to reflect on the tragic events of 9/11.
“I felt the ceremony truly honored the memory of all the persons lost since 9/11 or as a result of Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Sgt. Ruby Clendenning, the RC(SW) staff secretary office administration non-commissioned officer-in-charge. “My husband was in New York City for the actual ceremony and it was nice that the time of our ceremony was aligned to be simultaneous.”
During the ceremony, a narrator recounted the timeline of the attacks as a band played solemnly in the background. Each time the narrator recalled an event which claimed lives, including each of the plane crashes, each tower collapse and the pentagon attack, a bell was rung and a moment of silence observed for the 2,977 lives lost.
Troops from other nations also attended the ceremony.
“Nine-eleven is one of the main reasons we’re here,” said Sqd. Ldr. Nick Card, British Royal Air Force, and a native of Catworth, England. “The speech was really nice, it was really good that the CG brought the level down for it and talked about how he felt about 9/11.”
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 09.13.2011 07:20 |
| Story ID: | 76931 |
| Location: | CAMP LEATHERNECK, AF |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Deployed troops reflect on 9/11 during memorial ceremony, by Cpl Katherine Keleher, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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