Photo By Sgt. Maj. Nathan Hoskins | Lynnwood, Wash., native Spc. Alex Teesdale, a chaplain's assistant for 4th Battalion,...... read more read more
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By Spc. Nathan Hoskins
1st Air Cavalry Brigade
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – It isn't a day of celebration, but of remembrance. It isn't a day of happiness, but a day of somber contemplation.
Many Soldiers can recount exactly what they were doing and what they were thinking the moment they saw or heard the news of the terrorist attacks, Sept. 11, 2001.
And that is exactly what was being discussed during the 1st Air Cavalry "Warrior" Brigade (ACB), 1st Cavalry Division, 9/11 prayer breakfast, Sept. 11.
Part of the morning's events included reflections of what individual Soldiers went through on that day six years ago.
Little Rock, Ark., native Sgt. Brian Jones, the chaplain's assistant for 2nd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div., recalled working at Fort Jackson, S.C. – a hub for new recruits in basic training.
"Before (Sept.11), you would see a lot of people joining the Army, they want to do great things for their country, but the majority ... joined for college and wanted to do things for themselves," he said to the crowd gathered in the Command Sergeant Major Cooke Dining Facility outdoor pavilion.
Jones alluded to the fact that pride in country shot through the roof after that day.
"After (Sept. 11), you would kind of expect that the (enlistment) numbers would go down because no one would want to join an Army that's about to go to war, but that didn't happen," said Jones.
"More and more people started flooding into Fort Jackson. The surge went past summer and into winter. We had a surge and people wanted to come and join the Army," Jones said.
This flood of patriotic troops touched Jones to his core. He said he recalls the feeling of seeing how not only the nation reacted to such a tragedy, but how the U.S. Army reacted.
"So the most beautiful thing I saw was our Army stand tall at that moment we were attacked and young people wanting to join the Army, not for college, but so they could protect this great nation," Jones said as tears welled up in his eyes.
The keynote speaker for the prayer breakfast was Chap. (Maj.) Mark Penfold, the "Warrior" brigade's chaplain, who hails from Michigan City, Ind.
Penfold made the assertion that the 1st Cav. Div. had historical ties to the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, he said.
He told the story of Richard Rescorla who was not only a young, motivated officer during the first major offensive in Vietnam in the Ia Drang Valley with the 1st Cav. Div., but also the head of security for Morgan Stanley's Individual Investor Group at the World Trade Center later in life.
While pushing through that first night in the Ia Drang Valley, he walked through the ranks of his Soldiers and kept them motivated. He even sang old Cornish mining songs to raise their spirits, said Penfold.
Then, after sneaking to the enemy's side and doing some reconnaissance of his troops' positions, he came back and had them reposition to better survive the fight at daybreak, Penfold said.
The next day his Soldiers held up well under fire and many of them can recount how the leadership and motivation of Rescorla kept them alive, said the Warrior chaplain.
Many years later, on Sept. 11, 2001, Rescorla continued to show his true colors by saving thousands of employees of Morgan Stanley's Individual Investor Group, said Penfold.
Rescorla was seen on security cameras within the World Trade Center with a bullhorn directing human traffic and singing the same songs he did back in the Ia Drang Valley – motivating the people to stay motivated and stay alive, Penfold said.
Rescorla would later die in the collapse of the World Trade Center, leaving a legacy of heroism, selfless service and an example to all Soldiers and Americans, Penfold said.
"I think there are two critical lessons to learn from Rescorla's life," Penfold said. "The first one is that selfless service is not just an Army value. It doesn't start when you come into the Army and go through basic training and end when you leave."
"In fact, for many of us and for many of you here, selfless service precedes being in the Army and it will go on and transcend your Army experience," he continued.
"(Rescorla) was willing to risk his life in combat. He didn't shirk his responsibilities. And he embraced the value of selfless service and it became a part of who he was," Penfold said.
"The second example that comes out of Rescorla's life, for me at least, was the power of example," said Penfold.
Rescorla, born in England at the start of World War II, later would watch as the U.S. troops moved through his town, impressing on him how extraordinary these forces were – leaving an example to follow later in life, said Penfold.
Penfold contemplated whether this wasn't occurring in Iraq with the young and impressionable children and the U.S. forces.
"(Do) our Soldiers ... as we interact with people, leave that kind of influence on (young Iraqis') lives? Is our example such that it captures their hearts and minds and burns within them so that when they grow up they want to be something else?" asked Penfold in closing.
Afterwards, Chap. (Capt.) Ben Clark, chaplain for 4th "Guns" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div., gave a charge to those in attendance. He wanted them to know the meaning behind the prayer breakfast that day.
"Our purpose today is not to make you to go away sad thinking about the events of that day," he said. "It's to make you go away today holding your head a little bit higher and maybe walking taller to understand the country you represent and the flag you wear on your shoulder."
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2007 10:16 |
| Story ID: | 12310 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 448 |
| Downloads: | 381 |
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