JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
Members of Joint Base Andrews and their families paid their respects during Patriot Day with a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Heritage Park on base, Md., Sept. 11, 2017.
This year marks the 16th anniversary of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, a day still fresh in the minds of service members stationed in the area at the time.
Dean Markos, 11th Wing Public Affairs chief of command information, was an active duty Army soldier stationed at the White House as part of the White House television team that day.
While awaiting the arrival of President George W. Bush from his trip to Florida, word got out that a plane had crashed into one of the twin towers in New York City.
“We all tuned in to watch the coverage,” Markos said. “After the attack on the Pentagon, we were ordered to evacuate the White House. On my way out, I witnessed Secret Service agents urgently evacuate Vice President Dick Cheney and his aides from his office to the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, beneath the White House. I’d never seen agents escort a leader like that, and that’s when I knew the events unfolding weren’t accidental.”
Approximately 13 miles away, Senior Master Sgt. David Bowman, former 113th Wing munitions superintendent, received a call from Col. Donald Mozley, former 113th Maintenance Group commander.
“His words to me were, ‘we need every live missile we have on the flightline, as soon as possible,” said Bowman. “Over the next two hours we delivered missiles to crew chiefs preparing jets for loading.”
Those jets would patrol the capital continuously for 72 hours.
Fast forward 16 years, members from JBA gathered to remember first responders from the attacks on Sept. 11. The event also featured a large American flag suspended from a firefighter cherry-picker, a UH-1N Twin Huey from the 1st Helicopter Squadron and formations of emergency responders and base personnel.
Reveille was played, preceding a moment of silence and the playing of taps to remember and pay respect to those who died in the attacks.
The ceremony also honored the D.C. Air National Guard’s 113th Wing, in addition to other National Capital Region entities, that sprang into action on 9/11.
To pay respects to those who were effected by 9/11, taps was also played four times during Patriot Day, at 8:46, 9:03, 9:37 and 10:07 a.m., the times each attack occurred.
“That day we learned the security of a nation must be our main priority - there are no days off,” Bowman said. “Every day since Sept. 11, 2001, the wing has maintained a constant state of readiness. It is the ‘new normal’. The unthinkable has been done, but we are ready to prevent it from ever happening again.”