9/11 attack remembered at local memorial
Police officers hold flags during Monday's 9/11 memorial service at Washington Mall.
Police officers hold flags Monday during a 9/11 memorial service at Washington Mall.
Tom Wright of Washington looks on during a 9/11 memorial service Monday at Washington Mall.
Sarah Morgan of Washington hugs her daughter, Gracie, 3, during Monday’s 9/11 memorial service at Washington Mall.
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson was at the U.S. Navy Annex in Arlington, Va., the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, getting ready for a meeting later that day at the Pentagon.
“That meeting didn’t happen,” said Johnson, who has since retired from the Marines.
Johnson spoke to several dozen gathered on a brisk Monday morning at the 9/11 Memorial at Washington Mall in South Strabane Township to remember the approximately 3,000 people who lost their lives 16 years ago in the terror attacks at the Pentagon, in New York City and on an airplane that crashed in rural Shanksville.
“I recall the tremendous bravery and selflessness of the first responders who answered without regard for their own personal safety,” Johnson said. “It should be etched in our minds to ensure that no one forgets.”
Johnson recalled that in the shock and disbelief over what happened that day, people were fearful of another “shoe to drop.”
The attack that day was part of a long war against Islamic radicals, Johnson said, citing the taking of the U.S. Embassy in Iran, the destruction of the embassies in Beirut and Nairobi, the attack on the U.S.S. Cole and conflicts in Kuwait and Iraq.
“New threats continue to emerge,” Johnson said. “As Americans, we must ever be mindful of the deep hatred our enemies have for us because we are free people.”
“Nine-eleven was a battle in a long war,” he added. “We must be prepared to face other military battles. Freedom must be protected.”
South Strabane police Chief Donald Zofchak said Americans need to be vigilant.
“We can’t have this happen again,” Zofchak said.
Zofchak, who was overseeing his last 9/11 ceremony as police chief, also recognized local police and firefighters who died in the line of duty, as well as two local Marines who died serving in the Middle East.
Pastor Gary Gibson of North Buffalo United Presbyterian Church, during the invocation, said it is hard to believe it has been 16 years since the 9/11 attacks.
“It seems like just yesterday that horror and fear gripped our country,” Gibson said. “We will persevere, but as a country we can never forget those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.”