Kunsan Airmen remember Sept. 11

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) --  Members of the 8th Fighter Wing here Sept. 11 paid a special tribute to the victims and emergency responders involved with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Members of the base fire department, 8th Medical Group and 8th Security Forces Squadron formed a special emergency services flight formation to symbolize all the emergency responders who sacrificed their lives on the day of the tragedy.

The ceremony also consisted of five members of the flight posting the U.S. flag while the fire station bell ran three sets of five chimes. The chimes are a tradition, which began in New York City. Five bell strikes, repeated in a series of three, with a slight pause between each series would take place when a firefighter died in the line of duty or when an important official or person died.

The bells were followed by the playing of "Taps" and a moment of silence to remember the people who died during the terrorist attacks that day.

"It's important to take time on this one day to reflect back from where we were six years ago and look at how far we've come today to ensure that we're keeping our nation free," said Tech. Sgt. Jason Rosenbaum, the 8th Civil Engineer Squadron NCO in charge of fire and emergency services logistics. Sergeant Rosenbaum was also in charge of the ceremony events and participated in the emergency services flight.

For one Kunsan Air Base Airman, the ceremony was significant because he was there to see the tragedy that day first hand. Capt. Christopher Edwards, a base bioenvironmental engineer, was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., at the time of the attacks. He was called to come out to the Pentagon to help the emergency responders. His job was to ensure the responders had proper protection before going into the building to perform recovery efforts.

"When I was at the Pentagon, I was responsible for keeping the first responders safe. It was hard to just stand by and watch while others were working that day," he said. "This is my first time participating in a memorial service since the day of the tragedy. It's amazing to see the groups of people here paying tribute. Anything we can do to remember that day, puts things into perspective."

The ceremony concluded with the playing of "Amazing Grace" and an F-16 Fighting Falcon flyover. The memorial ceremony was the only one of its kind held at a U.S. military installation within the Korean peninsula. 

"The war on terrorism goes on and we may never fully avenge the senseless deaths of 3,030 innocent victims we are here to honor today," said Col. CQ Brown, the 8th Fighter Wing commander. "However, as American Airmen, we must remain ready to answer our nation's call and set the conditions so that acts of terror like we experienced on Sept. 11, 2001, never happen again."

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