BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Monitor Editor
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS— The members of AMVETS Post 86 remembered the terrorist attacks and acts of heroism of Sept. 11, 2001, with a ceremony held at the post.
Lt. Col. Mark Alexander began the observance by recalling the timeline of events on the Tuesday morning 20 years ago.
He described the events of the day, beginning with the hijacking of American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles at 8:14 and concluded with the collapse of five stories of the western side of the Pentagon at 10:50.
“Two-and-a-half hours after the first plane left Boston, the iconic twin towers lay in ruins in lower Manhattan and brave first responders and military personnel were scrambling to save lives and secure our country,” he said. “Life in America was set on a new trajectory.”
Alexander then described his personal experience on 911, telling the crowd he was preparing to meet with an accountant when he received a phone call from his daughter.
“She said, ‘You have to go turn on the TV. Something really bad is happening,” he recalled. “Little did I know it was really, really bad.”
Alexander, who leads the AMVEST Post 86 honor guard, said he then reflected on the victims of the attacks.
“I can’t imagine getting up that morning and thinking: it’s a beautiful day and I’m going to work to take care of my family,” he said. “You gave that final kiss to your loved ones, never to be seen again. The heroics that took place that day are amazing.”
Keystone Heights Mayor Karen Lake told the crowd she was rocking her toddler son while watching in disbelief as the events unfolded on her television screen.
She recalled that like many other Americans, she was confused as she watched smoke billowing out of the World Trade Center’s north tower.
However, that confusion gave way to anger when she witnessed United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the south tower.
“It was clear at this point that America was under attack,” she said.
Lake said a delay in United Airlines Flight 93’s departure from Newark allowed passengers aboard the Boeing 757 bound for San Francisco to learn of the other attacks while in route.
“After hijackers took over their plane,” she said, “all on board knew the plane would not be returning to any airport. Several flight attendants and passengers planned an insurrection (and) they attacked the terrorists.”
Lake said that during the struggle, it is believed the plane rolled over, hurtling it into a field near Shanksville, PA. at over 500 miles per hour.
She added that ceremonies like the one the AMVETS organized are essential in keeping memories alive for future generations.
“For that toddler who sat on my lap in my rocking chair that morning of 911,” she said, “he won’t remember that day like his mom does. It’s memorials like this that help a generation too young to remember that we can’t ever forget the importance of their lives and unity to our nation.”
Post Commander Bob Beinlich said the attacks hit him hard because as a native of Long Island, he could relate to the daily activities of the New York victims.
Beinlich added that the country’s response to the attacks still inspire him today.
“America’s always risen to the challenge,” he said. “Everybody out there has to know that America is ready on a moment’s notice.”
Beinlich held up a coin commemorating the USS New York, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock christened in 2008.
Beinlich said steel used to construct the vessel came from the rubble of the World Trade Center.
“That’s a cherished piece for me,” he said. I’ll always remember New York.”
Alexander led the crowd in a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, noting that Todd Beamer, one of the leaders of Flight 93’s passenger revolt, recited the prayer along with the 23rd Psalm with an telephone operator, before charging the cockpit with other passengers.
The Keystone Heights Junior-Senior High School JROTC participated in the ceremony. The group’s leader, Lt. Col. Richard Hall told the crowd about this recollections of 911. He said he was attending a class when he received instructions to telephone his commander. As a special forces operator, he would be on his way to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan within days.
Also participating in the ceremony were Michelle Grabowski, who read the poem “That Day in September” by Dan Marcou.
Clay County School Board member Tina Bullock also read a poem she had written.
Personnel from Clay County Fire Rescue were also at the observance.
