By LINDA CHION
linda@observernews.net
As Tampa Bay prepares to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Veterans and first responders pause to remember the sacrifice and
unity that followed the deadliest attacks on American soil. Among them is Jaymond Calmes, retired U.S. Navy, who was on active duty aboard the U.S.S. Emory S. Land (AS-39) in Italy when news came of the attacks.
“Even though 9/11 is such a dark shadow because it happened in the worst way, we need to remember that we can all come together for a common purpose,” Calmes said, referencing Americans of different backgrounds and affiliations. “We the people,” he added, quoting the U.S. Constitution, “need to stay that way.”
Unity, that’s the key, said Veteran Marine Rudy Salas, who served in the Vietnam War. “A lot of good people paid the price on 9/11, and it’s our turn to pay back in remembrance,” Salas said. “Everything has a price; and everything has a commitment; and our duty today is to fight for a diligent democracy, and not a divisive frontier.”
The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue truck stands in tribute to the firefighters who gave it their all (and some, their lives) in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks
Chris Boles, a retired firefighter, Republican and Hillsborough County Commissioner, said he finds hope in this year’s remembrances. “It was wonderful how we came together as a country,” said Boles, who after the 9/11 attacks worked 12-hour shifts digging bodies and body parts out of the New York City rubble. “There was no red, no blue, no Republican or Democrat, just Americans loving America and showing up.”
Likely that would be the case today, “but I do think a bit of tribalism has set in,” Boles added. “This country was based on a whole bunch of different people getting together, and we need to recapture that.”
Sentiments like these were shared at Veterans Memorial Park in Tampa after the Aug. 29 unveiling of a memorial honoring historic all-Black regular U.S. Army regiments and Sgt. William H. Thompkins, who camped in the Tampa area in 1898 before deploying to the Spanish-American War. The Buffalo Soldiers Memorial sits across from the outdoor amphitheater set for the 9/11 remembrance.
The 9/11 commemoration, observed as Patriots day, will begin at 10:30 a.m., Friday, Sept. 11, and is organized by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR), Hillsborough County Veteran Community Services and the Veterans Council of Hillsborough County. HCFR cadets and JROTC students from area schools will participate, in a program that includes a color guard, rifle salute, Taps and the ringing of the fire-service bell. In view will be the park’s 135-pound section of steel recovered from the World Trade Center.
Meanwhile, individuals, families, schools, businesses and organizations are expected to commemorate the day in their own ways. Among them is the 9/11 Cadet Memorial Walk at Earl J. Lennard High School in Ruskin, involving JROTC cadets, corps staff, school administrators, Veterans and first responders, who are
encouraged to wear patriotic or first-responder apparel. The walk begins at 8:46 a.m., marking the time the first terrorist plane struck the World Trade Center, and covers 2.977 miles in honor of the 2,977 lives lost that day, excluding the 19 terrorist hijackers.
The 9/11 deaths resulted from terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center; the Pentagon; and United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa., after passengers and crew bravely attempted to retake the plane, preventing it from reaching its intended target, believed to have been in Washington, D.C.
In New York, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 struck the World Trade Center’s North and South towers. Both towers collapsed, killing 2,753 people at the site, including 157 passengers and crew members aboard the planes. The attacks also destroyed much of the surrounding complex. Today, two reflecting pools mark the towers’ footprints, with the victims’ names engraved around them. The 9/11 Memorial Museum and One World Trade Center stand nearby.
At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., killing 64 people aboard the plane and 125 inside the building. The Pentagon Memorial, outside the rebuilt damaged section, honors the 184 victims with individual memorial units arranged by age and location.
Forty people aboard United Airlines Flight 93 died in Pennsylvania. The Flight 93 National Memorial, at the site now, includes the Wall of Names, a memorial plaza and the Tower of Voices, with 40 wind chimes, one for each person who perished.
Since the attacks, cancer and other illnesses linked to 9/11 exposure have affected many responders and survivors. As of March 31, 2024, the World Trade Center Health Program reported 35,955 living members with at least one certified cancer condition and 2,925 deceased members who had received a cancer certification.
The deceased-member figure reportedly includes deaths from all causes and, therefore, does not represent a confirmed count of 9/11-related fatalities.
Hillsborough County’s Veterans Memorial Park and the Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Museum, operated by Hillsborough County, is at 3602 North U.S. 301, Tampa.