The Mahaska Community Honors and Remembers 9/11 Pt. 1
Iowa national Guard Det 2 3654 Maintenance Company helped present colors at the Sunday ceremony (photo D.Hubbard)
Oskaloosa, Iowa – An after church ceremony at Central Park in Oskaloosa started drawing a crowd around noon with lawn chairs dotting the west side. The actual ceremony was slated not to start until 1 pm, but they sat patiently, just wanting to be a part of it.
Diane Crookham-Johnson served as Emcee of the days gathering to honor and remember 9/11. “Good afternoon and welcome. We come together today on the 10th Anniversary of September 11, 2001 to remember and to honor.”
The service was opened by presenting of colors were presented by Iowa Army National Guard, Det 2, 3654 Maintaince Compay, American Legion Post 34, Veterans of Foreign Wars 2237, Disabled American Veterans and area public safety representatives.
I decided to include the full speech from those that spoke Sunday afternoon. I will start with Diane Crookham- Johnson first. Part 2 will move on to State Rep. Guy Vander Linden.
Diane Crookham-Johnson was the Emcee and spoke for just over 10 minutes about Musco and their team's response to 9/11 (photo D.Hubbard)
“Today we gather in the city square surrounded by symbols. Throughout the park, 2977 American Flags have been placed to represent each life lost of September 11 in New York, Washington D.C. And Pennsylvania.
Behind us sits a lighting truck that hoists a flag flown over Ground Zero beginning on September 12, 2001 and flown through December of that year. The flag is believed to be the second American Flag flown over the site.
Together, let us all now remember and honor that day and those memories.” was the opening statement given by Diane Crookham-Johnson
Leading in prayer was Pastor Michael Omundson of the First Christian Church. Omundson currently has two sons serving in active duty.
Stefan Barner performed The National Anthem.
“10 years ago today September 11, 2001 was election day in Iowa. As I left the voting booth I smiled as I listened to school children playing on the elementary school playground at my voting site, and I looked at a beautiful blue sky and I thought to myself, it is great to be an American.
Moments later at work, and as members of the Musco team gathered around television sets and watched events unfold before our eyes, we had the same thoughts as people throughout the country and around the world. How can we help?
We discussed donating blood, gathering food, donating clothing. None of those ideas seemed quite right, and then someone said light.
The people in New York are not going to want to stop searching tonight, they will need light and they probably don’t have electricity, we need to get our trucks to New York City.
This is one of the trucks Musco had stationed at Ground Zero. It's flying the 2nd flag to fly over Ground Zero, and is stained from the smoke and dust to rise up from the pile of rubble. (photo D.Hubbard)
Our trucks are semi-trucks with 150 foot cranes holding 150 watts of light, and they carry their own diesel power. Each truck is able to light several acres of area, enough light to keep the rescue area lite at daylight levels during the night without the need for electricity.
Parked behind us today is one of those trucks that would make it’s way to New York City.
So for a moment we were able to move away from the televisions and begin to work on something we thought could make a difference.
As we located our trucks, we found we had one truck in Manhattan and three trucks in Rhode Island. Close enough they could be on site in the New York City area quickly.
Our technicians on the east coast were watching the same images we were and had the same thoughts. They had already begun talking about driving to New York City, but the question remained, how to get there.
On that day, most highways on the east coast had been shut down as safety plans were put in place by governments.
Mahaska residents listened as the story of that day and the events that unfolded were told.
We told our team members we would get to work on a way to get the trucks to New York City while they prepared the equipment. The equipment and technicians had been working all night the previous night for a television broadcast.
Our first call is to the New York City Fire Department. They had no time for a call from Iowans at that moment.
Our next call is to the New York City Police Department, and again they had no interest in a call from Iowa. But who could blame either department? They were in the midst of a disaster unlike anything we’ve prepared for in this country.
So what to do?
Maybe Connecticut could help? They were on the intended travel route. A call to the Connecticut Highway Patrol was answered by a person who had seen our trucks working the night before. He knew we had to get to New York, he promised a solution and would call back shortly.
A state trooper escort was arranged from the Rhode Island – Connecticut line, they said they’d get us to New York City.
We talked to our technicians, they were ready to go. The equipment was ready and they each indicated they’d called home letting their families know about their intended plans.
You have to understand, our technicians are guys who sign on to be on the road 200+ nights a year expecting to see really good football games and some good rock concerts. Never had they considered doing anything like this. None of our training had prepared them for what they were about to see.
Mahaska County Sheriff Paul DeGeest represented the Sheriff's Department at the Sunday memorial service
As our team and trucks met the Connecticut Highway Patrol, the only question asked by the patrol was, how fast can these trucks move?
As our team was headed to the city, wondering what they would find and experience, they never doubted it was where they needed to go.
At about the same time, we were learning the Pentagon had been hit. Team members in Iowa jumped into two trucks stationed in Oskaloosa and headed east. As they departed we called the Pentagon and we were reminded of something that’s been demonstrated to us time and time again since September 11, 2001, our United States Military knows what they are doing and they don’t mess around.
Our call to the Pentagon quickly resulted in military personnel telling us they would wait for our arrival, and then they’d let us know when we could have our trucks back.
On the way east, our drivers reported calls coming over the CB radios. Drivers were wishing our drivers God speed as we headed to the east coast, telling us we were needed there. These were to be the first examples for us of what it means when Americans come together.
Two trucks remained at the Pentagon for two weeks until the exterior of the building was enclosed. At that point one truck was requested in New York City and it was soon followed by the second truck.
Our team coming from Rhode Island arrived in New York City and they began the process of finding people who could help them get directed to proper locations.
They were hit with the reality of what had just happened in New York and their determination increased that our lights needed to be there.
Initially the equipment was directed to a staging area that was used for all donated equipment and supplies. The Major League Baseball field Shae Stadium
Frustration at not being able to grab anyone’s attention set in. Our techs had been awake for over a day, they decided to take a short rest, regroup and try to figure out a new plan.
As they were sitting down in their trucks, on knock on one of their doors from a FEMA representative set the text in motion. The FEMA rep remembered seeing us at the federal building in Oklahoma City. He knew we needed to be put in action and said he could get it done.
Within hours the trucks were parked in the area we now call Ground Zero. On that first night, the only instructions were, if you see people running, you should also run in the same direction. Mass running means somethings falling.
As the days turned into weeks at Ground Zero, our initial crew asked to be relieved, but they insisted that the lights needed to remain in place. As weeks turned into months, we rotated 42 team members through Ground Zero and had a maximum of eight trucks on the site at one time.
Each time the crew would return they would talk about their experience at Ground Zero. They didn’t talk about the horror that was around them, obviously that was there. Instead they would talk about the hope they had experienced. They talked about the school children who would stand at the entrance to Ground Zero giving out hand made thank-you cards to volunteers and first responders. They talked about the Sunday School classes that arrived to sing at the fences.
On a nearly identical day to that September day in 2001, the flag gently moved in the slightest of breeze.
They talked about being at Ground Zero in the middle of the night when the wind was blowing and the snow was falling and what it meant to a Red Cross volunteer, show up at just the right time with a warm cup of coffee and an extra candy bar.
They talked about the real things in life, being Salvation Army volunteers, who knew just when you needed a hug or a shoulder to lean on.
They remembered the morning they returned to their hotel to find a birthday cake waiting for one of them. The hotel staff had heard them talking as they left for work the night before and the staff wanted to make sure some aspects of life remained normal.
They remembered Christmas Day and the meal in the Red Cross tent and the woman who gave each person a hand made Christmas ornament. And as she handed them the ornament she thanked them for sacrificing this holiday with their family, so that her family might find her brother who had died when the towers collapsed.
And they talked about a fireman Bobby Wilson. He was our contact for anything we needed at Ground Zero. Bobby was amazing. There wasn’t a tool, a gallon of fuel, a quart of oil or a roll of duct tape he couldn’t find instantly. And somehow he was always there, day or night, when ever he was needed.
As each of our crews returned from New York they had similar stories. They talked about their renewed belief in people and the importance of working together in supporting each other.
As our last truck left Ground Zero, eight and a half months after the attack, our firefighter Bobby was still standing guard. He hadn’t take a day off and felt like he probably hadn’t left for more than six hours any of those days in the last eight and a half months.
A group estimated to be over 1500 filled the square in downtown Oskaloosa to remember 9/11
As the Musco team reflects today on our experiences we first say thank you. Thank you to Iowa and to the Mahaska community for being the type of state and community and Iowan’s for being the type of people you are. We were proud to be able to tell people in New York and Washington DC that Iowan’s cared and were praying and helping.
The same spirit demonstrated after September 11th is demonstrated over and over again in Iowa and the Mahaska community as we care about our neighbors, our friends and family following disasters and everyday life.
Today, as we think about what the last 10 years have meant, we remember the 2,977 who lost their lives in New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. And we specifically remember Mari-Rae Sopper, the sister of one of our Musco team members, and the sister and aunt of the Frank Kminek family of Oskaloosa. Frank, his wife Beth and their children Joseph, Zoe, Will and Hope are with us today.
Mary-Rae lost her life lost her life that day as the plane she was on hit the Pentagon. Mary-Rae is a reminder to us that the people that day who lost their lives were chasing their dreams, living their lives, caring for their families and friends . They were just doing what was right.
We reflect on all the examples of love, of care, of helping others of self sacrifice we saw and benefited from while at Ground Zero.
We thank each person who reminded us about the important things in life and demonstrated those priorities. And we try each day to offer the same acts of kindness to others as the popular phrase says ‘to pay it forward’.
Today, as I look across the park, I thank the active military personnel, the veterans, the first responders, fire, ambulance, law enforcement for all each of you do so selflessly every day to keep us safe. And I thank the citizens for all you do to make us a community.
And I end as I started. It’s great to be an American. Always remember. Thank You
Part 2 of this article will pick up with a speech from State Representative Guy Vander Linden.
