Sept. 11 2001 — a day to remember. A day to never forget. That was the sentiment as around 50 people turned out on Wednesday, Sept. 11, at Sedona Fire District’s Station 6 to remember and pay respect to those lost on that day.
It’s been 18 years since terrorists forced four jetliners to crash in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. And while Sedona is thousands of miles away, the memo¬rial pays tribute to the more than 3,000 lives lost during one of the country’s darkest days. The 30-minute presentation was started by SFD Governing Board President Dave Soto, who recognized the dignitaries in the audience and the guest speakers who stood in front of the memorial that features a 2,900-pound girder that came from one of the Twin Towers.
“Their memory will forever be etched in our minds and our hearts for the rest of our lives,” he said of those who died. “That’s what we shall always remember. This moment of time that affects everyone’s lives seems like yesteryear because we make it so — never forgotten, always to be remembered.”
Scott Jablow, now a Sedona city councilman, was a member of the SFD board and spearheaded the effort to bring the girder to Sedona. A former officer in the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey himself, Jablow listed the number of civilians and first responders killed that day. But he also pointed out those who worked at Ground Zero for weeks and months after the attacks who have since lost their lives to Sept. 11- related illnesses.
“I never imagined after that horrific event that the deaths would continue for decades and decades to come,” he said. “Sept. 11, 2001, was truly the nightmare that keeps on taking. Here we are, 18 years after that disastrous day and the deaths haven’t stopped.”
Over 10,000 people have been diagnosed with World Trade Center-linked cancer. And more than 3,700 of those people have since died including 184 New York City firefighters, 60 police officers and hundreds of other first responders. And those numbers continue to rise.” SFD Chief Jon Trautwein next took the mic and said Sept. 11 is a time to pause, remember and reflect on “the most horrific act of terrorism in the history of the United States resulting in a devastating loss of life to our residents and first responders.”
He said since then the country has moved on, rebuilt and learned from the events of that day and in doing so have increased the safety for the citizens and the nation as a whole. He encouraged people to visit the 9-11 site when in New York City and to witness what has taken place nearly two decades later.
“It’s very staggering and very sobering,” he said. “See what we’ve done as we’ve moved forward and rebuilt. I think that area and what we’ve done speak to the culture as Americans about how we move forward and come out of horrific events stronger.”
The last to speak was Lt. Lucas Wilcoxson of the Sedona Police Department. Chief Charles Husted was unable to attend so he asked Wilcoxson to speak on his behalf.
Wilcoxson admitted that at first he wasn’t sure what he should talk about but after being asked by a younger individual why we want to remember such a tragic event, he said it was then he knew what to say.
“I remember watching the world change before my eyes of what it was in the past compared to what it was going to be in the future,” he said. “The reason I remember this day each year is because of two things. One, it reminds me that this country is not as invincible to the dangers of the world as I had thought.”
Secondly, he said he saw a lot of communities with a sheep mentality back then with their heads down and not aware of their surroundings. But after the attack some of those sheep became sheep dogs and had their eyes open for those wolves to help avoid it happening again.
“In other words that horrible event opened the eyes of the community to the world’s dangers and people began to speak up when they saw something that was not right rather than keeping it to themselves,” he said.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
