Washington –
At 8:46 a.m. on the White House lawn, there was a moment of silence. This was the exact time at which the first plane hit the World Trade Center building in New York City 12 years ago. The morning of Sept. 11, 2013, was sunny, as it was on the day of the 9/11 attack.
This moment was etched in the minds of all who attended the 12th 9/11 anniversary memorial ceremony at the white house, but for Senior Airman Joshua Gierucki, 11th Operations Group ceremonial guardsman, it was especially memorable.
"This is my first time honoring the fallen in this ceremony," said Gierucki. "That moment of silence that spread throughout D.C. really spoke to respect and seriousness people have for that day in our nation's history."
Gierucki was selected out of the 11th OG to represent the Air Force during the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the White House.
"I learned I was going to be part of a joint-service color guard about a week and a half beforehand," said Gierucki. "When I found out I was going to be in the ceremony, I thought, 'I need to make sure I'm not gonna screw up'."
Gierucki's preparation process began the night before the actual ceremony.
"To prepare for this event, I made sure my white gloves had no stains; my uniform was pressed, clean and had no strings," said Gierucki. "Doing all this the night before mentally prepared me. I was afraid I wasn't gonna wake up on time, get through White House security quickly, or something else might go wrong during the ceremony.
Preparations helped put my mind at ease and helped me focus on the real meaning for the ceremony the next day."
Gierucki's day began hours before the ceremony took place, starting with a 3:30 a.m. wake up.
His initial responsibility was to be at the squadron at 4 a.m. to gather his flags, pick up the Sailors also participating in the ceremony around 4:30 a.m. and meet up with Army transportation to head to the White House.
Once picked up at 5:30 a.m., Gierucki and his fellow service members slowly made their way to the White House. They arrived at the security checkpoint at 5:45 a.m. then
proceeded to the White House itself.
"As we walked through the White House, I thought it was crazy just how much history was in this place," said Gierucki. "It was surreal walking through there. Once we were set up inside, we finally had some time to relax and take a breather before the ceremony started."
After some time to unwind, the joint-service team started their rehearsal for the ceremony around 6:30 a.m.
"We practiced our routine until we were confident it was perfect, we needed to have it down to a science," said Gierucki. "When they finally opened the doors for the real event, that's when it hits you that it's game time."
It was surreal lining up into place, hearing the cameras rolling and seeing all the people in attendance, according to Gierucki.
As President Obama paid tribute to the memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11, praising military and diplomatic personnel who have made many sacrifice, Gierucki thought of what this moment meant to him.
"I'm lucky that none of my family members were lost in that attack, but I have friends whose families were a part of that horrible day," said Gierucki. "Knowing I could do something to honor the people that were lost meant so much to me."
"Even watching old footage of the attacks today still hurts," he said. "But I remember that we're still part of the US and how we came together as a nation that day really stuck with me."
As soon as 8:46 a.m. struck, bells tolled and a military bugler played Taps. The President and first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden, his wife Dr. Jill Biden and members of the White House staff, all stood silent on the South Lawn.
"The moment of silence felt like it lasted a lifetime," said Gierucki. "When I heard that first chime go off, it hit me that this is a huge honor and I'm thinking about all the lives that were lost."
Gierucki said this is one of the reasons he joined the Air Force in the first place.
"9/11 is a day that brought the nation together," said Gierucki. "I feel like I had true patriotism and thought about what I could do to better my nation. It was a reminder that we can still be attacked at home."
As soon as Taps was done, the President, Vice President and their wives left the South Lawn and the ceremony was concluded.
"I never thought I'd be doing this in my military career," said Gierucki. "When I first got to basic training, I never thought I'd do anything like this."
When it was all said and done, the guardsmen retired the colors. Gierucki and his fellow guardsmen left the White House around 9 a.m., drove back to the base, dropped the Sailors off at their office and met with his supervisor to talk about the ceremony.
"I had a heavy set of emotions that day," said Gierucki. "It was a mixture of being proud to be part of a nation that is still honoring the victims 12 years later, and grief for those we have lost."
Gierucki said he is proud to have been chosen to represent at the White House who represented the entire Air Force in that moment.
"I thought that we may have been hurt, but we're still standing strong and doing what we can to prevent a day like that from happening again," he said. "I'll look back on this day and tell my children and grandchildren about it for years to come."