Wolf Pack members participate in 9/11 ceremony

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alice Moore
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, South Korea --  Members of the 8th Fighter Wing took time out of their usual schedules to pay a special tribute to the victims and emergency responders involved with the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks here Tuesday. 

The memorial ceremony was the only one of its kind held at a U.S. military installation within the Korean peninsula. 

Colonel CQ "Wolf" Brown, 8th Fighter Wing commander, shared his thoughts on the significance of Airmen at Kunsan Air Base participating in the ceremony. 

"The Global War on Terror goes on and we may never fully avenge the senseless deaths of 3,030 innocent victims we are here to honor today. However, as American Airmen, we must remain ready to answer our nation's call and set the conditions so that acts of terror like we experienced on Sept. 11, 2001, never happen again," he said. 

Members of the base fire department, 8th Medical Group and 8th Security Forces Squadron, formed a special emergency services flight formation to symbolize all the emergency responders who sacrificed their lives on the day of the tragedy. The ceremony also consisted of five members of the flight posting the U.S. flag while the fire station bell ran three sets of five chimes. The chimes are a tradition, which began in New York City. Five bell strikes, repeated in a series of three, with a slight pause between each series would take place when a firefighter died in the line of duty or when an important official or person died. 

The bells were followed by the playing of Taps and a moment of silence to remember the people who died during the terrorist attacks that day. 

"It's important to take time on this one day to reflect back from where we were six years ago and look at how far we've come today to ensure that we're keeping our nation free," said Tech. Sgt. Jason Rosenbaum, 8th Civil Engineer Squadron, NCO in charge of fire and emergency services logistics, who was in charge of the ceremony events and participated in the emergency services flight. 

For one member of the Wolf Pack, the ceremony was significant because he was there to see the tragedy that day first hand. Captain Christopher Edwards, base bio environmental engineer, was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., at the time of the attacks. He was called to come out to the Pentagon to help the emergency responders. His job was to ensure the responders had proper protection before going into the building to perform recovery efforts. 

"When I was at the Pentagon, I was responsible for keeping the first responders safe, it was hard to just stand by and watch while others were working that day," he said. "This is my first time participating in a memorial service since the day of the tragedy. It's amazing to see the groups of people here paying tribute. Anything we can do to remember that day, puts things into perspective." 

The ceremony concluded with the playing of Amazing Grace and an F-16 fly over.