Colorado Springs remembers and honors 9/11

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On September 11, 2001, 343 New York City firefighters and 23 police officers never made it home after responding to one of the most daring rescue operations in American history.

On Wednesday, the City of Colorado Springs remembered those lives lost in a ceremony held at the Fallen Police Officer’s Memorial at Memorial Park where law enforcement, firefighters, and military leaders all paid their respects and remembered this harrowed day.

“On this day, 23 years ago, Americans from all walks of life across political, religious, and cultural lines came together, bonded not only by shared grief, but united in human resilience, compassion, hope, and national pride in the face of great tragedy,” said Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade.

In remembrance of all those who responded and were tragically killed, leaders laid three wreaths during the ceremony to honor those lost at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and in the field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Wednesday’s event also serves as a reminder to the new generation of why it’s so important to never forget.

“It is imperative that we have to keep these memories alive, that we have to honor these moments because time tends to degrade those memories and takes away that passion,” Colorado Springs Fire Department Chief Randy Royal said.

Colorado Springs stood still for that hour as the memorial took place. Those in attendance heard from Mike Gould, Retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General and former United States Air Force Academy Superintendent.

Lt. Gen. Gould was the Commander of the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in 2001 when the attacks occurred and he recalled that harrowing morning and the actions he took to protect the country.

“Among our team’s actions on that day was to convene what was known as an air attack conference,” he said. “Gathering all the combatant commanders, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the White House on a secure phone conference.”

On a call with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in which Lt. Gen. Gould’s team took action to ground all civil aircraft after the initial attack, a warning came through that could have changed Colorado’s history forever.

“The FAA informed us that they were tracking a commercial aircraft who had departed Seattle flight plan to Denver, but he wasn’t responding to any ground controller calls. Well, thinking perhaps that this was another hijacked aircraft and that our command center inside Cheyenne Mountain might be the target, we directed our engineering team to close and secure the access Tunnel’s blast doors to ensure that we could continue the mission if that attack occurred,” Lt. Gen. Gould said.

But the attack never happened. It was the actions of his team that helped assist those first responders on ground zero in responding and preventing any more lives from being lost.

For those currently serving in the line of duty, Chief Royal issued a call to action, a vow to never forget and to keep protecting our country.

“Our thoughts and prayers and heartfelt support should continue for those of the future, for those that passed as well as their families,” he said. “But we also need to continue to pray for our public survivors and our military partners as they actively perform those duties today.”

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