Bremerton ceremony commemorates 9/11
BREMERTON — Scores of community members gathered for a Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony Sunday at the Kitsap 9/11 Memorial in Bremerton's Evergreen-Rotary Park.
The ceremony — like countless others throughout the nation — marked the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon and the crashed airliner in Pennsylvania.
"If you have the community spirit like you have here in Bremerton and like we have here throughout Kitsap County, you come together to figure out a way to never forget," U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, said, standing a few feet from beams taken from the rubble of the downed towers. "And here we are in Evergreen-Rotary Park at the site of a memorial that reminds us what happened on that day. It connects us directly to the events of 9/11."
USS Stennis Chief Select Douglas Herold, who grew up outside New York City seeing the city's skyline, including the World Trade Center, spoke about the events of that day. He remembered both the uncertainty and unity that surrounded followed the attack.
"What the terrorists were not counting on was the great resolve of our nation," he said. "All Americans put aside any differences in color, race, religion and political affiliations. We were all simply Americans that day."
Kilmer, the keynote speaker, acknowledged a few stories of heroics, compassion and unity surrounding the attacks.
"From horror and tragedy came moments of courage and grace," he said.
Kilmer told of Timothy Stackpole, Jason Thomas and Rick Rescorla, among others, as stories of compassion surrounding that day.
Stackpole was a New York City Fire Department captain who, along with his unit, was killed at Ground Zero while rescuing victims of the attack. Thomas, a Marine Corps veteran, drove to Ground Zero after hearing about the attacks and worked there for more than two weeks helping at the site. Rescorla, the head of corporate security at Morgan-Stanley in one of the towers, directed about 2,700 people out of the South Tower before it collapsed. Rescorla was in the tower looking for those who hadn't yet escaped when it fell.
Kilmer also noted the story of the town of Gander, Newfoundland, as an example of generosity in the midst of terror. The small town opened its homes, churches and buildings when it played host to thousands of airline passengers stranded after flights were grounded in the wake to the attacks. In gratitude, passengers collected about $15,000 for a scholarship fund for the town's youth, which has grown to about $2 million 15 years later, Kilmer said.
"It's another reminder that on a horrific day, we also saw some amazing compassion," he said. "We saw what the human spirit is capable of."
By: Nathan Pilling
Source: Kitsap Sun