September 13, 2017 at 3:42 p.m.
Tomahawk observes 16th anniversary of 9/11
Tomahawk observes 16th anniversary of 9/11
Tomahawk mayor Tom Taskay talked about how the attacks on New York and Washington D.C., and the crash of a highjacked plane in a field in western Pennsylvania, permanently changed the country.
"I know that for all of us here today, and in fact for all Americans, Sept. 11, 2001 forever changed our world, just as Dec. 7, 1941 - Pearl Harbor Day - defined a generation," he said. "September 11 has forever shaped who we are, how we live our daily lives and what we believe in. But unlike Pearl Harbor, in which one nation attacked a military installation, this time an organization of terrorists, not operating under the flag of any one nation, attacked thousands of unsuspecting men, women and children. our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, husbands and wives, coworkers and friends who were doing nothing out of the ordinary for a typical Tuesday morning."
Taskay remarked on the shocking nature of the attacks, which came as people were going to work and traveling from place to place. He also saluted the police officers and firefighters who bravely charged into danger that day and tried to save the innocent.
"All of these individuals that we remember here today committed no offense against no country, they held no ill will toward others, they did not subscribe to rigid principles centered on the distinction of those different from them, they were merely going about their daily routine," Taskay said. "(They were) working hard to provide for their families and to build the life that they had dreamed of."
What was most shocking was not the "unthinkable, diabolical method by which (the terrorists attacked) us, or the scope and magnitude of the attacks," but that "it was our way of life that was attacked," he added.
"Our way of life that was embracing freedom and democracy. Our way of life that awards hard work and grit, yet encourages selflessness and generosity. Our way of life that recognizes varying opinions in society and still reserves the right for all to express those opinions. Our way of life that allows us to worship freely and to look differently. The United States of America remains one of the most desirable places on the planet to live, not for our oceans, lakes or plains, not for our mountains and rivers, not for our cars and homes and technology, but for our freedom."
In the days following the attacks, it fell upon this country to "console the inconsolable," and in the weeks that followed many people sought to "explain the unexplainable" and as the months turned into years, "we tried to make sense out of the senseless," he added.
"And even today, 16 years after Sept. 11, 2001, we strive to find hope in the moments of hopelessness that still haunt us," he added, while urging those in attendance to use the ceremony as a reminder to not take anything for granted, to appreciate our freedoms as Americans, to count our blessings, to strive to help each other and cherish friends and family.
The Adventures in The Spirit Ministry then performed an interpretative dance to the Dusty Drake song "One More Time" about a phone call from a husband on one of the doomed planes to his young wife at home.
Nokomis Fire Chief Dan Richert spoke about the 412 emergency services personnel who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, many of them volunteers such as himself.
"When you compare the number of emergency workers killed, EMTs and paramedics were clearly in the minority on that shocking day," Richert said. "Forty-two EMS workers were killed and of those 28 of them were volunteers."
Many of the volunteer EMS personnel were ambulance drivers who supplemented the Fire Department of New York, he added.
'None responded (to the World Trade Center) for a paycheck, or for glory. Each saw what was happening in their city and knew they had to do something," Richert said.
He then told the story of Jeff Simpson, a volunteer with a local ambulance service in Dumfries, Va. Simpson was in New York City the day of the attacks in his capacity as a project manager with a software company. When he saw the damage to the World Trade Center from his vantage point in the state attorney general's office on lower Broadway, he rushed to see what he could do to help. It is believed he died when the north tower collapsed.
"Jeff had no stake in New York, his fellow squad mates were not responding and he probably didn't know a single person in those towers," Richert said. "Yet he did what we all do. He dropped what he was doing and ran to help."
Richert went on to say he hopes that when people see EMS on the side of the road working on someone at a crash site, or at an industrial accident in a factory or when having a heart attack at home, they are filled with hope.
"I believe that every responder on 9/11 gave each person they passed hope," he said.
Lt. Kevin Krueger of the Tomahawk Fire Department said the response to the attacks is a profound example of the resilient American spirit.
"Just think of the courage of our police, firefighters and EMS personnel who rushed into two burning towers to bring thousands to safety," Krueger said. "Our American spirit is defined by our ability to move forward in the aftermath of overwhelming loss. Even when it seems easier to just quit. Just think of the countless number of hours devoted to recovery efforts at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon sites. Our American spirit is built on being able to rebuild stronger and more united in purpose. Our brief history on Earth is a testament to that."
Although the death toll on that fateful day was excruciatingly high, it could have been much, much higher, noted event organizer Bill Burcalow. He said this was a sign that God had intervened in the plans of the terrorists.
"When those planes hit, those twin towers should have been holding about 35,000 workers," Burcalow said. "But some people were late getting the children off to school, so they were not in their tower yet. Some had medical emergencies, so they weren't there. I could go on and on and on about why people were not there."
He also spoke of the sacrifices made by those in the military, and their families, over the last 16 years.
Finally, he thanked the sixth-grade classes from Tomahawk schools who were in attendance at the ceremony and noted so much time has passed that those children had not even been born when the attacks took place.
After the playing of Amazing Grace, a honor guard rifle salute and the playing of "Taps," Taskay closed the ceremony by noting that it lasted 30 minutes, the same amount of time it took for both of the World Trade Center towers to fall.
Jamie Taylor may be reached via email at [email protected].
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