Ceremony inspires members to never forget Sept. 11

  • Published
  • By Capt. Suzanne VanderWeyst
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Airmen of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing gathered with coalition forces and sister servicemembers at sunrise Sept. 11 on the grounds of a newly constructed memorial for a Sept. 11 Remembrance Ceremony here.

Col. Cameron Torrens, the 386th AEW commander, presided over the ceremony on the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

"How fitting that we meet here, on the front lines of the fight, to remember the people we have lost, and the patriots who gave their lives so that our children may not suffer through the same pain," Colonel Torrens said. 

Members of the 386th AEW honor guard presented a wreath laid at the memorial site by Colonel Torrens and Chief Master Sgt. Jeffrey Antwine, the 386th AEW command chief. A 21-gun salute and the playing of "Taps" followed the wreath laying.

Japanese air force Tech. Sgt. Masashi Kido, a photographer with the Japan Air Self Defense Force's Iraq Reconstruction Support Airlift Wing here, came to the ceremony with the mission to take photos of the event, but he was unable to do so -- honoring coalition comrades respectfully was more important.

"I could not take (photos) today. It would not have been right," Sergeant Kido said.

"Let this day be somber. Let our hearts ache. But do not let your spirits flag," Colonel Torrens said. "The wreath we lay today, our newest memorial in front of you and the stars and stripes above us symbolize what has passed, what is now and what is yet to come. What has passed is tragic, what you do every day is heroic and what is yet to come will be great."

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