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Most children attending the Fort Leavenworth Schools’ Freedom Walk Sept. 9 have no memory of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
However, they’ve endured the absence of one or both parents over the past 10 years serving a nation at war.
For the fourth year, students at each of Fort Leavenworth’s four schools walked to Normandy Field to sing patriotic songs and share their American spirit. They also practiced all the verses to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which some are required to learn as part of their music education curriculum in school.
Superintendent Keith Mispagel said the event has become an important one to schools on post, both for families of American service members and many of the international families whose children attend schools on post.
“Our freedom walk has become a way to renew our commitment to freedom,” Mispagel said, “and to honor all who have helped us maintain that freedom.”
Col. Wayne Green, Garrison commander, recounted the history of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
That morning, terrorists boarded four planes with the intent of flying them into buildings.
At 8:46 a.m. eastern time, the first plane, Flight 11, hit the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. At 9:03 a.m., the second plane hit the south tower. At 9:38 a.m., the third plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. At 10:10 a.m., the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, its hijackers overpowered by passengers.
Back in New York, the south tower, last to be hit, was first to fall at 9:59 a.m. The north tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.
Nearly 3,000 innocent American civilians died in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania — most from New York. About 50 service members died at the Pentagon.
Green said many parents and service members remember exactly where they were when they heard the news that the United States was under attack.
“These were fearful moments for all of us,” he said. “Fear of the unknown.”
However, Green said the U.S. was quick to respond to the attacks, and the enemy miscalculated the American spirit.
“Our enemies calculated that we would be frozen by fear, and they could not have been more wrong,” he said.
Green said military children, for the sacrifices they have borne over their parents’ absence in fighting a war on terror, are the real heroes.
“You are the superheroes of our country,” he told military children. “You give your mom and dad strength and purpose … if mom or dad could not be there, or mom or dad had deployed a long time, you have tried to understand. You are proud of your parents, and that’s all they need from you to find the strength to serve our nation.”
Most children attending the Fort Leavenworth Schools’ Freedom Walk Sept. 9 have no memory of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
However, they’ve endured the absence of one or both parents over the past 10 years serving a nation at war.
For the fourth year, students at each of Fort Leavenworth’s four schools walked to Normandy Field to sing patriotic songs and share their American spirit. They also practiced all the verses to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which some are required to learn as part of their music education curriculum in school.
Superintendent Keith Mispagel said the event has become an important one to schools on post, both for families of American service members and many of the international families whose children attend schools on post.
“Our freedom walk has become a way to renew our commitment to freedom,” Mispagel said, “and to honor all who have helped us maintain that freedom.”
Col. Wayne Green, Garrison commander, recounted the history of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
That morning, terrorists boarded four planes with the intent of flying them into buildings.
At 8:46 a.m. eastern time, the first plane, Flight 11, hit the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. At 9:03 a.m., the second plane hit the south tower. At 9:38 a.m., the third plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. At 10:10 a.m., the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, its hijackers overpowered by passengers.
Back in New York, the south tower, last to be hit, was first to fall at 9:59 a.m. The north tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m.
Nearly 3,000 innocent American civilians died in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania — most from New York. About 50 service members died at the Pentagon.
Green said many parents and service members remember exactly where they were when they heard the news that the United States was under attack.
“These were fearful moments for all of us,” he said. “Fear of the unknown.”
However, Green said the U.S. was quick to respond to the attacks, and the enemy miscalculated the American spirit.
“Our enemies calculated that we would be frozen by fear, and they could not have been more wrong,” he said.
Green said military children, for the sacrifices they have borne over their parents’ absence in fighting a war on terror, are the real heroes.
“You are the superheroes of our country,” he told military children. “You give your mom and dad strength and purpose … if mom or dad could not be there, or mom or dad had deployed a long time, you have tried to understand. You are proud of your parents, and that’s all they need from you to find the strength to serve our nation.”
