Hill Air Force Base remembers events of 9/11
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- Hill Air Force Base first responders are pictured at Hill’s Memorial Park on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, during a ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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- Hill Air Force Base first responders are pictured at Hill’s Memorial Park on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, during a ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
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- Hill Air Force Base military personnel are pictured at Hill’s Memorial Park on Friday, Sept. 9, 2022, during a ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
HILL AIR FORCE BASE — In keeping the memory of a tragic day in the nation’s history that brought people from all walks of life together, Hill Air Force Base held a commemorative ceremony Friday at the base’s Memorial Park. Sunday marks the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in which nearly 3,000 people lost their lives, 20,000 people were injured and countless others were left with traumatic memories.
Col. Jeffrey Holland, 75th Air Base Wing commander, presided over Friday’s ceremony. Addressing distinguished guests, Hill personnel and members of the community, Holland said those who were killed on 9/11 will not be forgotten.
“We are here to honor the brave men and women who saved many lives while sacrificing their own in the line of duty,” Holland said of the 412 first responders who died in the line of duty to save lives.
It was the single deadliest day in U.S. history for firefighters, medics and law enforcement officers, Holland said.
As horrific images played live on televisions around the world, many people both foreign and domestic were affected. Chaplains were on standby at the 9/11 ceremony for anyone who needed them.
In a prayer preceding the ceremony, a chaplain asked God to strengthen service men and women as they continue to fight terrorism around the world and seek to stop it from spreading to U.S. land.
“Unite us as one people today. May we forever share our experiences and our struggles with the younger airmen who know nothing of 9/11,” the chaplain said.
Mike Burruss, assistant chief with Hill’s Fire & Emergency Services, said the numbers of military personnel who either do not remember the attacks or were not yet born are increasing.
It was around 10 p.m. in Japan, after Burruss and fellow Marines had gone to sleep, when militants of the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida flew a highjacked commercial airplane into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City — the first in a series of attacks.
Burruss said everybody was waking each other up to watch the events of 9/11 unfold. There was a feeling of uneasiness amongst his comrades that night, he added, as they knew they were about to play an important role in what was coming next.
Cory Lingelbach, Hill fire captain and a fellow U.S. Marine, was already separated from the Marine Corps by Sept. 11, 2001. He said it was the 9/11 terrorist attacks that brought him back into fire rescue.
Holland called names of some first responders who lost their lives that fateful day while protecting and serving their country.
“We experienced one of the darkest days in our nation’s history, a day in which hate and evil attempted to break the spirit of the American people,” he said.
Kayla Fitzgerald, a first lieutenant with the 75th ABW, said even though she was only in first grade at the time and unable to grasp the full scope of what was happening, she and her peers knew it was bad as her teacher’s sobbing was shared by other educators who entered the classroom to watch it unfold on television.
“They turned on the TV and told us not to watch,” Fitzgerald said. Her father was a volunteer firefighter at the time.
Burruss said he remembers the morning after and how everything seemed to have stoped as though the world had shut down.
Following the attacks, former President George W. Bush said terrorist attacks can shake the foundation of our tallest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America.
Promising never to forget all who died and how it changed America, Holland brought the 9/11 ceremony to an end with the tolling of a bell to pay a final honor, followed by a moment of silence and Taps, a bugle call played during flag ceremonies and military funerals.