Patriot Day ceremony took place at Gough Park 091119

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

Linda Pecotte gave the introduction at the Patriot Day ceremony at Gough Park on Sept. 11, 2019 to commemorate the 18th anniversary of 9/11, the tragic day of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked New York City World Trade Towers and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. Thanks to courageous passengers on a flight that was on a track to Washington D.C. likely to strike the White House or Capital, United Flight 93, instead crashed into a field in Pennsylvania, killing all aboard.

Harry Pecotte presented the prayer to open the ceremony. "Thank you for the freedom you gave us. Thank you, God, for watching over us."Judy Ruth sang the National Anthem and it rang throughout the park. Retired Navy Chief Bill Ruth led the Pledge of Allegiance. Six bells were rung to begin the remembering.

At that signal, the Marine Corps League Detachment 1328 color guard began lowering the flag to half-mast until sundown.

Grant County Commissioner Billy Billings read the proclamation that the Board of County Commissioners would approve at the regular meeting the next day.

David Morrison and his wife sang songs he had written. The first was "The Flag." "I was a firefighter in New York on 9/11. Then I served in the military. Before I wrote this first song, I was on my way back from my last assignment. As soon as I got back, I wrote it and later, my second song, 'Old Glory, Our Flag.'"

Steve May addressed the question: "Where were you on 9/11?

"I was shaving and getting ready to go to work," May said. "That was when we owned and ran Adobe Springs. It was a solemn day. People still came in and had conversations, but they were quiet and subdued."

He quoted statistics: At Pearl Harbor, 2,400 were killed and in the Oklahoma bombing, 168. "On Sept. 11, there were four attacks, with four jets hijacked. Two went into the World Trade Center towers. The attacks involved 19 terrorist hijackers. Flight 11 with 87 aboard plus five hijackers, hit the North Tower; United flight 175, with 60 aboard and five hijackers hit the South Tower; American Flight 77, with 59 aboard and five hijackers hit the Pentagon; and United Flight 93, with 40 aboard and four hijackers, probably was aimed at the White House or Capital. But people on board attacked the hijackers and it crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The total deaths were 2, 996. As a result of the attacks, all airplanes in the country, more than 4,000 in the air, landed at the closest airports, directed by the chief of air traffic operations."

Patriot Day is Sept. 11 each year. Patriots Day is the third Monday in April memorializing the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

"We have to be always vigilant," May said. "We can't let our guard down."

Paul Ortiz of the Silver City Fire Department, said each bell that was being rung represented an event that happened on 9/11.

At 8:14 a.m. was the last communication from the first plane hijacked.

The first bell rang.

When the first plane hit the World Trade Center, it hit at about the 80th floor. It appeared to be a freak accident.

The second bell rang.

The next plane turned and sliced into the South Tower near the 60th floor.

The third bell rang.

Then the Pentagon was hit, causing a structural collapse of a portion of the building.

The fourth bell rang.

The South Tower collapsed.

Another bell rang.

Flight 93 was delayed at Newark Airport. By this time, people aboard the plane had heard and knew what was happening, so the passengers decided to attack. Todd Burnett said to his wife: "Don't worry. We're going to do something." Todd Beamer said: "Let's roll."

A bell rang.

A flight attendant said on the phone: "I've got to go, bye. Four hijackers have attacked the cockpit."

In December 2011, 9/11 became Patriot Day by an Act of Congress. In September 2009, the day was set aside as a day of service and remembrance.

President George W. Bush said: "Today our way of life, our very freedom came under attack…. It filled us with quiet, unyielding anger. …They attacked because we are the bright beacon to the world. …We responded with our best. …I ask for your prayers for those who grieve. Pray they will be comforted by a power greater than us."

Ortiz asked all firefighters in attendance to step forward.

Silver City Police Chief Freddie Portillo said he joined a service team on West Street in New York City after the attack. "We formed a daisy chain of human beings. It was dark, smoky and we were working on adrenaline. We knew what our goal was. Some feel asleep in the street."

"The loss of that day remains with us," Amy Wagner said. "God Bless the U.S. and God Bless the state of New Mexico."

All law enforcement in attendance stepped forward.

Bill Ruth said he spent 28 years in the Navy. "I was asked to speak about veterans and 9/11. That day the major bases across the country shut down. Security established stringent protocols. A lot of people, to do something about the attacks, decided to join the Armed Forces. I commend all veterans for their continued thought and dedication and their courage and commitment."

"I started in the Navy in 1967 and served in Vietnam as a Navy diver in 1967, '68 and '69. In 1986, I had the opportunity to go back as an instructor on insertions and extractions on submarines. At age 56, I served in Iraqi Freedom. The zeal and dedication of our troops were tremendous. Now I see incentives to get young people to sign into the military. It makes me wonder about their honor, courage and commitment. We have a lack of volunteers now. People don't seem to be as committed to the needs of this nation. That brings the importance of meetings like this to remember and not forget."

He told the story of a friend of his, a Gary Berg, who at 51 was on the second day of a new job of a company and was at a meeting on the 99th floor of the North Tower. "We heard that the plane had crashed between the 93rd and 98th floors."

On Flight 93, the passengers, Ruth said, showed uncommon valor. "They knew they would die, but they stormed the cockpit, thinking and probably saying, 'On our watch, we are not going to let this plane hit its target.' I suspect it was the Capital, with the hopes of taking out the Commander-in-Chief."

He said he wondered if another celebration of enemies is looking "at this gathering and celebrating."

"We need veterans to remind the youths around them," Ruth said. "Remember the fallen, remember the need to be steadfast, and remember the importance of gatherings like this." He then asked all veterans to be recognized.

Pastor Sarah Guck of Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd said: "The grief today is deep. I hold us all in love. I moved here 15 years ago. Nine months before 9/11, I moved to Missouri from New York City. I was waiting for calls from four friends. I never heard from Pat Brown. I told my four-year-old, 'you have to grow up now.'"

"I say thank you for the healings, for taking care of us," Guck said in prayer. "You young people have to love and heal until division is gone. We need to teach and preach the gospel of peace." She then read the Prayer of St. Francis, and the audience was dismissed.