Elected leaders, first responders, members of the military and members of the community gathered at noon Wednesday to mark the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The annual event, held in the city’s Memorial Garden space, across the street from the Civic Center, attracted some 75 people who bowed their heads in prayer and listened to patriotic singing and speeches under partly cloudy skies and a comfortable breeze.
The keynote address was given by Col. Collin Keenan, commander of the Pine Bluff Arsenal, who led off his remarks by thanking those who rushed into harm’s way.
“We in the military always get thanked, but I would be remiss if I did not extend thanks to the first responders,” he said, calling Sept. 11, 2001 “a surreal and somber day.”
He said the terrorists that day intended to break America’s spirit but failed.
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“On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, a bright autumn day was darkened when an enemy maliciously attacked our country,” Keenan said. “This enemy was determined to shake the foundations of our nation and destroy the American spirit. They tried to crush our will to stand up to protect the ideals of liberty and humanity, and sought to destroy what we hold dear as Americans.
“Though many men and women died that day, and in the years after, we as a nation did not falter. This loss, as profound as it was, did not break the soul of our nation. It made us stronger.”
Keenan said that, despite all the changes the country has had to overcome in the intervening years, one element that remains the same is the military, which continues to serve.
“We are not about equipment and things,” Keenan said. “We are about people standing together.”
The annual event also honors a member of the military who was one of almost 3,000 people killed in the 9/11 attack. Nehamon Lyons IV, a 1989 graduate of Dollarway High School, was a petty officer who had served on a warship but then was transferred to the Pentagon in 2001 where he was killed.
Lyons was given a tribute by Tara Tyler-Woods, a retired U.S. Army master sergeant, and by his former teacher at Dollarway, Linda London Simmons. When Simmons was a teacher, she started the annual observance of 9/11 to honor Lyons. She said Mayor Shirley Washington reached out to her as a way to broaden the observance of Lyons’ sacrifice.
“As a result, we are here today,” Simmons said. “I want to thank Mayor Washington for her leadership.”
Providing music for the program was Duane Jackson, choral director at Pine Bluff High School, who, with his deep baritone voice, gave a stirring acapella rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America. Also from the high school were members of the Junior ROTC who presented the colors.
The emcee for the event was U.S. Navy Petty Officer Michael Tidwell, who noted that the Navy had commissioned three ships in memory of 9/11 – the USS New York, where the Twin Towers were; the USS Arlington, in honor of those who died in the attack on the Pentagon; and the USS Somerset, in honor of those individuals in Pennsylvania who lost their lives in the crash of Flight 93 as they stymied efforts by terrorists to use that plane in the furtherance of their attack.
Earlier in the day, members of the Pine Bluff Fire Department held their own 9/11 ceremony.
Petty Officer Michael Tidwell of the U.S. Navy presents a challenge coin to Xzaeviun Sims of the Pine Bluff High School Air Force JROTC. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington delivers opening remarks at the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony honoring Petty Officer Nehamon Lyons IV at the Pine Bluff Memorial Garden on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
A memorial stone honoring the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., including Nehamon Lyons IV of Pine Bluff, has been placed in the Pine Bluff Memorial Garden since Sept. 11, 2002. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)