September 14, 2020 at 1:59 p.m.
Tomahawk marks 19th anniversary of 9-11
Nokomis fire chief calls for unity like what followed the 2001 attacks
Tomahawk marks 19th anniversary of 9-11
The similarity of the skylines, clear and cloudless, was not lost on several of the speakers as the members of the Tomahawk, Nokomis, Little Rice and Pine River fire departments and representatives of Tomahawk Veterans Honor Guard gathered at Veterans Memorial Park to reflect and remember the men and women who were killed in the nation's worst terrorist attacks.
Before the remembrance ceremony began, John Taskay laid two pairs of white dress gloves on the memorial.
Taskay served on the Rockport, Ill. Fire Department for 32 years before retiring to the Tomahawk area.
"We sent two squads from Rockport to New York City after the attacks," Taskay said. "All they did was ceremonies, funerals and memorial services, no rescue work (at "Ground Zero").
He said this allowed the members of the FDNY to continue searching the rubble for victims.
As Taskay finished placing the twin pairs of gloves, he slowly straightened upright and rendered a slow, precise salute.
Salutes came often during the 30-minute ceremony - when the national anthem, "Amazing Grace" and "Taps" were played and when the colors were posted and retired.
Verbal salutes were also rendered to the almost 3,000 people who lost their lives that September morning.
Kevin Krueger of Generations Funeral Home, who also serves as a member of the Tomahawk Fire Department like his father and grandfather before him, offered his own tribute.
"They went to work that morning, just looking to do their job. They knew the risks in their work, but had no idea how the magnitude of loss that would happen that day," Krueger said. "When you hear that they went running in as everyone else was running out, this is a fact, this is what firefighters do. This is emergency services, and that is why you have the finest and the bravest."
He said the firefighters who responded to the World Trade Center suddenly found themselves facing a pair of fires "at a size and breakdown almost incomprehensible."
"They went in like they always did, some almost made it up by the crash points," Krueger said. "Three hundred and forty-three did not come out, but they saved many lives and civilians in the process. We will never know what it felt like as the structure's collapse began, listening as each floor caved in and headed in your direction. Think about that."
Krueger said he likes to think that God sent the angels of fallen firefighters from "the firehouse in Heaven," to carry those killed that morning to "their eternal home."
"I like to think he told them 'well done, my good and faithful servants," Krueger added.
Every year, the Tomahawk, Nokomis and Little Rice fire departments take time to salute the fallen of 9-11 "for the sacrifices they made for us," he added.
Several speakers also mentioned how the country came together following the terrorist attacks, galvanized by collective shock, grief and anger.
Krueger noted the country is "going through a tough year in 2020" and Americans need to find that collective spirit once again.
"I ask everyone who can hear my voice, think about where we are right now, and where we were 19 years ago," he said. "We said the day after, on September 12, 2001, we said the world has changed forever. We said we would move forward, we will get through this very hard time, we will persevere and we will be stronger moving forward."
"We all know what happened, we walked the walk, we talked the talk," Krueger added. "We made it through."
He end his speech with an observation and a challenge.
"Let's grab hold of that strength from 19 years ago. Grab that bravery from those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect all of us, domestically and worldwide back then," Krueger urged. "Let's unite like we did back then and show the world that America is full of survivors that work together, never give up, never lose faith, never stop moving forward and we will never forget."
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