459th ARW Airmen attend 9/11 memorial service

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sophia Piellusch
  • 459th Air Refueling Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. --  459th Air Refueling Wing Airmen attended a memorial service held during the September Unit Training Assembly here to remember the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

While similar memorial services were held at ground zero in New York City, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, 459th ARW Airmen gathered in a small conference room to also pay tribute to the first responders who sacrificed their lives while saving others.

459th ARW Chaplain (Maj.) William Wiecher led the memorial service, which included scripture readings, moments of silence and a reflective sermon.

"The individuals who saved the victims of the towers, at the Pentagon and the people on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania all helped others while selflessly giving their own lives," Chaplain Wiecher said. "We're all called to do the same thing when we serve in the military. Service before self is one of core values," he said.

Staff Sgt. Vernecia Smith, 459th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, joined fellow 459th ARW Airmen at the memorial service.

"It was good to set time aside to remember the first responders who were involved, their efforts and to remember those who lost their lives in the tragedy," said Sergeant Smith. "I thought it was a very important moment in history,"

Airmen who were unable to attend the service were invited to observe four moments of silence throughout the day to signify when the hijacked jets crashed into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in Somerset County, Pa. The moments of silence were also in remembrance of those who lost their lives on 9/11 and for the men and women who have fallen since that day defending the U.S.