A large crowd gathered for the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony – the twentieth year since those fateful events. Craig Thompson (GVMH CEO) delivered the opening remarks: “We remember,” he told the crowd. He thanked all those who had come to honor the fallen and remember the day that changed the world we live in. Along with those changes, however, also came something else: “A renewed sense of appreciation for all those who skip into harm's way.” Thompson took a moment to honor our local first responders – and those who serve/have served in the armed forces.
He told those gathered that there have been many comparisons between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor, but that he did not fully agree with those analogies except in the respect that both events changed the world. “For many of those on that day it was a typical Tuesday morning,” he said. “They were not doing anything out of the ordinary.” Thompson continued: “What shocked us most was that our way of life was attacked.” He recalled that some 20% of the U.S. population knew either someone hurt or killed that day.
At that time (8:37 a.m., 9:37 a.m. Eastern time) Sheriff Kent Oberkrom was asked to toll the memorial bell set up on the courthouse lawn. The tolling and moment of silence was in remembrance of Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon.
Pastor Monty Stratton (Clinton United Methodist Church) led the opening prayer followed by the Clinton JROTC’s presentation of the Colors. Next, Boy Scout Troop 430 led the crowd in the saying of the Pledge of Allegiance. Kyle Sisney sang the National Anthem.
The guest speaker was Adjutant General Levon Cumpton, Missouri National Guard. Cumpton grew up in Ballard and has friends and family in this area. “Life is about relationships,” he told the crowd. “We do life together; we are stronger together.” Adjt. Gen. Cumpton recapped the events of 9/11, the hijacked aircraft and the falling of the two towers – the crash into the Pentagon and the heroic Flight 93 patriots who were able to direct the crash of that aircraft into a field instead of its intended target. “In less than 90 minutes 2,978 Americans perished and over 6,000 were injured.” He continued describing the impact of those events: “You never forget where you were,” he said. For Cumpton, he recalled being at the National Guard Armory at Cape Girardeau. He recalled his reaction was one of shock and disbelief – that it was surreal. He also recalled seeing then President Bush speaking to a crowd at the site of the rubble; holding a bull horn speaker, some in the crowd could not hear him speaking and told the ex-President as much. “I can hear you, though,” said President Bush. “We pulled together as a nation,” said Cumpton. In October 2001 the U.S. and Great Britain began a bombing campaign in Afghanistan and not long after committed ground forces to the region, too. That was the beginning of a 20-year occupation that has seen 2,400 U.S. deaths and some 21,000 wounded – not to mention that “invisible wounds” of PTSD. “We will never forget those, too, who lost their lives to keep our homeland safe,” said Cumpton.
Adjt. Gen. Cumpton concluded by reminding those gathered of what President Ronald Reagan once said about freedom: “It is never more than one generation from extinction.” He told those gathered that it was true the world could be a tumultuous place, but that America would remain strong. As General Washington had once said: “There is nothing so likely as to produce peace as to be prepared to meet the enemy.”
Following the guest speaker, Sam Gibbons played “Taps”; a moment of silence was observed, and Clinton Fire Department Chaplain Dan Bebee gave the Benediction. The crowd waited the next few minutes in silence until 9:03 a.m. (10:03 Eastern) when Sheriff Oberkrom rang the Toll Bell again in remembrance of Flight 93 crashing into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
