Rising up from the depths of sorrow: 9/11 prayer luncheon

Photo By Sgt. Gun Woo Song | Chaplains from the 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, hosted a 9/11 commemoration ceremony and prayer luncheon at Memorial Chapel and the Warrior’s Club on Camp Casey, South Korea, Sept. 11, 2014. The event was to remember the victims who were killed by terrorist attacks in the U.S. 13 years ago and to emphasize our duty as professional Soldiers to support and defend the U.S. and its allies.  

CAMP CASEY, 41, SOUTH KOREA

09.11.2014

Story by Cpl. Gun Woo Song 

2nd Infantry Division/ROK-U.S. Combined Division

CAMP CASEY, South Korea – On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 innocent lives were lost at the malicious hands of terrorism. Many current Soldiers began their careers on that day, and many more since have joined the Army to help ensure such an attack never happens on American soil again. Despite 13 years passing, the vow to "never forget" the civilians and law enforcement lost that day still stands.

Chaplains from 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division hosted a 9/11 commemorative service and prayer luncheon September 11, 2014, at Memorial Chapel and the Warrior’s Club on Camp Casey, South Korea, to honor the memory of those lost and remind Soldiers why they’re here.

“I was worried that the victims were being forgotten even though the incident was not something that happened 20 or 30 years ago, but only 13,” said Chaplain (Maj.) Geunhyung Lee, the brigade chaplain. “This was an event that could not go overlooked.”

During the remembrance, Lee looked to a great leader before him to help put things into perspective.

“Churchill said ‘the farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see’,” said Lee. “We as Soldiers should know the past to prepare for a better future.”

Lee also mentioned how the terror was not only a day that the United States was attacked, but a day that all nations and countries that love freedom were attacked by al-Qaida terrorists.

He wanted all Soldiers to recommit themselves to their mission as representatives of their country and assert a sense of vigilance for what the enemy is capable of.

According to Lt. Col. Michael Kimball, the commander of 1st Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 210th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, the day serves as a refresher.

“Today is not only a day to remember and honor those we have lost, but is also a day of recommitting ourselves,” said Kimball, the guest speaker for the ceremony. “Recommitting our determination to ensure what happened in the cloudless sky of a September 13 years ago.”

Kimball asked the Soldiers to always keep the lessons they’ve learned in their hearts.

“As you continue through this day, I ask you to keep the families of all those affected on that tragic day in September, and the families of those who have given their lives since that day in the pursuit of and destruction of evil, in your hearts,” said Kimball. “We cannot forget, we must not forget.”

• Date Taken: 09.11.2014
• Date Posted: 10.27.2014 02:32
• Story ID: 146111
• Location: CAMP CASEY, 41, KR