Ceremony remembers 9/11, honors those who lost their lives

  • Published
  • By Jennifer Schneider
  • AFCEE Public Affairs
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Air Force units based at Port San Antonio's Bldg. 171 marked the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on American soil with a remembrance ceremony Sept. 9 at 9 a.m., in honor of those who died or had their lives forever changed as a result of the events of that day. The ceremony also honored military men and women who have died in defense of our nation since that day.

"September 11, 2001, was a day that all who were of sufficient age will remember vividly in terms of how we followed the news, what we were doing and how our lives were immediately affected," said Brig. Gen. Mark Ediger, ceremony host and Air Force Medical Operations Agency commander.

"It is certainly true that the attack on our nation compelled us to take actions and influenced the continuous cascade of change in our nation and around the world, touching our lives in ways we could not have predicted and generating international reverberations that continue to this day," he said.

During the ceremony, two Air Force employees who were in the Pentagon at the time of the attack gave their first-hand accounts of that day and those that followed to the approximately 500 military and civilian employees gathered for the remembrance.

Cynthia Fleming, from the Air Force Center for Engineering and the Environment, said had she not been distracted by a call from her husband regarding the attacks on the World Trade Center, she would have been at the site of the crash.

Shortly after his call, she saw the plane descend on the Pentagon from an office window.
While she and several colleagues were able to exit the building, they were saddened by the knowledge of those who were not.

"We heard a loud explosion and just began to cry," she said. "We began to gather up and circle around, hold hands and pray. We knew lots of lives had been lost at that time. Why, we did not know."

While providing her account of the horrific images and the loss of good friends and colleagues, Fleming said the tragedy has given her a great appreciation of heightened security measures.

"That day changed my thoughts on security," she said. "I took security for granted and I now realize the importance of it."

Marc Trost, from the Air Force Legal Operations Agency here, described the frustration of not being able to contact loved ones that day and how the event emphasized the uncertainty of life.

"I remember not being able to take things for granted and remembering how precious each and every day is," Trost said, then a lieutenant colonel. "To those of us fortunate enough to not be a victim, to not be the family of a victim, I think we always have to keep that dear to our hearts. Because that could happen to us, to someone in our family."

Ediger said continuing to protect freedom in America was the highest tribute that could be paid to those fallen.

"All of us gathered here today have chosen to serve our country professionally in some capacity," Ediger said. "In so doing, we've assumed a mantel of responsibility to preserve and protect liberty and the remarkable constitution serving as the foundation for our great nation. I believe this reaffirmation of our ideals and our commitment most honors those we have lost since Sept. 11, 2001."