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    15 years later, Luke remembers 9/11

    LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, AZ, UNITED STATES

    09.09.2016

    Story by Staff Sgt. Marcy Copeland 

    56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

    LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz.— Luke Air Force Base held a memorial today to remember the events of September 11, 2001 and to honor those who lost their lives during the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Penn., marking the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

    Military personal and civilians gathered at the flight line control tower and held vigil as well as spoke about the events that transpired on that fateful day.

    The sound of bagpipes played as the colors posted and then the emcees gave the timeline of events.

    • 8:46 am – Hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 crash the plane into floors 93-99 of the North Tower of the WTC, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building.

    • 8:47 am – Within seconds, NYPD and FDNY forces dispatch units to the WTC, while Port Authority Police Department officers on site begin immediate evacuation of the North Tower.

    • 9:03 am – Hijackers crash United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 75-85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building

    • 9:37 am – Hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 crash the plane into the western façade of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., killing 59 aboard the plane and 125 military and civilian personnel inside the building.

    • 9:59 am – The South Tower of the WTC collapses.

    • 10:07 am – Passengers and crew members aboard the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 mount an attempt to retake the plane. In response, hijackers deliberately crashed the plane into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, killing all 40 passengers and crew aboard.

    • 10:28 am – The WTC’s North Tower collapses, 102 minutes after being struck by Flight 11.

    During a moment of silence, Airmen unfurled a giant American flag spanning more than 3 stories from the catwalk of the flight control tower. Afterword, the memorial’s guest speakers took the stage to recount their personal experience on that day.

    “I was a staff sergeant at the time of the attacks and everything changed in a single day,” said Chief Master Sergeant Todd Kirsch, 56th Mission Support Group command chief. “We went from fighting for deployments to counting more deployments than I have fingers. I am proud to be standing here with the Airmen who joined after 9/11. I am proud of all of you who stand the line to protect this country. We have all decided this is the greatest nation in the world and we are going to stand here and protect it and if that concludes our lives then that is the way it is. I am extremely proud to stand up here and speak to you, but I am even more proud to be serving in the United States Air Force and to serve with every one of you.”

    The last alarm tradition was carried out by the chiming of a bell with three rings per set, representing the completion of a firefighter’s tasks and that the firefighters were coming home for the final time.

    After the ceremony concluded, everyone in attendance lined up to receive one of the 411 first responder names to carry the nine stories to the top of the control tower where they were collected and laid across the top of the American Flag draped on the tower.

    “It is humbling to know that we only went nine stories today when the first responders climbed 10 times the amount of stairs we just did,” said Col. Robert Sylvester, 56th MSG commander. “Those men and women were running into hell, but not a single one of them looked back. They put others before themselves and sacrificed their own lives in pursuit of rescuing the men and women trapped in the towers and we should take not just today, but every day to reflect on those sacrifices.”

    After the flight tower cleared, firefighters from the 56th Civil Engineer Squadron and the 944th CES cleared the building and begin to take off all of their gear, having made the climb just as the first responders did on 9/11, wearing almost everything to the top.

    “I came to this country 18 years ago from Venezuela and I found myself wanting to serve this country as my new home,” said Staff Sgt. Nairi Cornejo, 944th CES firefighter. “Climbing those stairs gave me a brief glimpse into what those firefighters went through on that day and it just broke my heart. Now I have an idea of just how bad it was going all the way to the top of those towers.”

    As the last few Airmen began to leave the area, and old glory floated on the breeze, a few Airmen stood looking at the flag and the banner of names at the top.

    “I felt such a sense of camaraderie climbing those stairs,” said Tech Sgt. James Jonathan Hickman, 56th CES firefighter. “I must have passed 30 or 40 other people on just one trip. I hope we touched everyone’s hearts and gave them a sense of closure with the ability to honor our fallen and to remember that day.”

    We shall never forget the 2,977 victims who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 09.09.2016
    Date Posted: 10.26.2016 16:30
    Story ID: 213018
    Location: LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, AZ, US

    Web Views: 60
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN