thedrifter
09-12-06, 07:45 AM
Individual tributes suffice
September 12,2006
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Marine Sgt. Nathan Allanach spent some of Monday afternoon sweeping pine straw from the brick walkway that surrounds a 2-ton steel beam pulled from the wreckage of the World Trade Center five years ago.
It was the least he could do to make Jacksonville’s only 9/11 memorial site, which shares space set aside for the Beirut Memorial, presentable.
What if fathers or sons or uncles showed up Monday to remember their loved ones lost during the terrorist attack, Allanach wondered. He wanted it to look nice.
The Fire Family Transport Foundation of the New York City Fire Department donated the beam to Camp Lejeune in memory of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and to honor the Marines who “honored them on the battlefields of Iraq.”
The last words written on the plaque that sits in front of the beam reads: “Gone but not forgotten.”
Allanach, an aircraft rescue firefighter at New River Air Station, hoped the sentiment would remain true. He kept expecting people to visit the beam Monday to pay their respects — to remember.
But he was disappointed.
“It tears you up a little,” he said, putting down the broom. “I guess people forget.”
Allanach didn’t. He doesn’t understand how others can or why Jacksonville didn’t take the time to put together a memorial service for the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
“If Jacksonville is the All-American city, why can’t we remember all the Americans who died that day?” asked Allanach, who wore a navy blue cap with “Engine 343 FDNY” embroidered on the front and a bright red T-shirt with “FD” printed in white. He has three months left in his enlistment and plans to start at the New York City Fire Academy next year, he said.
Earlier in the day, Allanach arrived at the beam in his dress blues with his wife at his side. They left 10 red roses on the beam. That’s when he noticed all the pine straw and a note left on the beam by someone named Jason Sansburn.
“The memorial stands as a tribute to those who lost their lives while trying to save others not unlike the white wall a few yards away,” Sansburn wrote, referring to the Beirut Memorial wall. “They, too, lost their lives while trying to do what they thought was right. To those who serve: Thank You. And being one of those, I can truly understand why we do what we do. It is our right to protect those that cannot protect themselves like the firefighters and rescue personnel of that day.”
Members of the Heritage Square homeowner’s association also wanted to make sure something was done in Jacksonville Monday to remember the people who died Sept. 11, 2001. The association bought 110 American flags, and Pat Cummings and Mary Cornwall put one in front of every house in the subdivision off of Country Club Drive.
“We decided it was something we could do as a community to show support not only for the military but for the fire department and police department — the people who keep us safe,” said Cummings, the widow of a retired Marine colonel.
Cornwall was playing bridge with friends when the two planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center.
“We were horrified,” Cornwall remembered. “It just hits you very hard that our country was hit like that.”
The 9/11 anniversary is a time to remember the people who risked their lives to rescue others as well as the people who died, Cornwall said.
“It’s a sad situation,” she said. “I think we should remember that people did suffer and we should bolster their spirit.”
It was surprising to both Cornwall and Cummings that more wasn’t done in Jacksonville — a military community — to remember the day. Cummings thought that with so many Marines in Iraq that people’s minds might be elsewhere.
“Perhaps the thrust now is all the Marine Corps has to do,” Cummings said. “Maybe there’s not time to stop and remember. Now they are tied up in the present and future rather than the past.”
Contact Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 238.
Ellie
September 12,2006
ROSELEE PAPANDREA
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Marine Sgt. Nathan Allanach spent some of Monday afternoon sweeping pine straw from the brick walkway that surrounds a 2-ton steel beam pulled from the wreckage of the World Trade Center five years ago.
It was the least he could do to make Jacksonville’s only 9/11 memorial site, which shares space set aside for the Beirut Memorial, presentable.
What if fathers or sons or uncles showed up Monday to remember their loved ones lost during the terrorist attack, Allanach wondered. He wanted it to look nice.
The Fire Family Transport Foundation of the New York City Fire Department donated the beam to Camp Lejeune in memory of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and to honor the Marines who “honored them on the battlefields of Iraq.”
The last words written on the plaque that sits in front of the beam reads: “Gone but not forgotten.”
Allanach, an aircraft rescue firefighter at New River Air Station, hoped the sentiment would remain true. He kept expecting people to visit the beam Monday to pay their respects — to remember.
But he was disappointed.
“It tears you up a little,” he said, putting down the broom. “I guess people forget.”
Allanach didn’t. He doesn’t understand how others can or why Jacksonville didn’t take the time to put together a memorial service for the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
“If Jacksonville is the All-American city, why can’t we remember all the Americans who died that day?” asked Allanach, who wore a navy blue cap with “Engine 343 FDNY” embroidered on the front and a bright red T-shirt with “FD” printed in white. He has three months left in his enlistment and plans to start at the New York City Fire Academy next year, he said.
Earlier in the day, Allanach arrived at the beam in his dress blues with his wife at his side. They left 10 red roses on the beam. That’s when he noticed all the pine straw and a note left on the beam by someone named Jason Sansburn.
“The memorial stands as a tribute to those who lost their lives while trying to save others not unlike the white wall a few yards away,” Sansburn wrote, referring to the Beirut Memorial wall. “They, too, lost their lives while trying to do what they thought was right. To those who serve: Thank You. And being one of those, I can truly understand why we do what we do. It is our right to protect those that cannot protect themselves like the firefighters and rescue personnel of that day.”
Members of the Heritage Square homeowner’s association also wanted to make sure something was done in Jacksonville Monday to remember the people who died Sept. 11, 2001. The association bought 110 American flags, and Pat Cummings and Mary Cornwall put one in front of every house in the subdivision off of Country Club Drive.
“We decided it was something we could do as a community to show support not only for the military but for the fire department and police department — the people who keep us safe,” said Cummings, the widow of a retired Marine colonel.
Cornwall was playing bridge with friends when the two planes hijacked by terrorists crashed into the World Trade Center.
“We were horrified,” Cornwall remembered. “It just hits you very hard that our country was hit like that.”
The 9/11 anniversary is a time to remember the people who risked their lives to rescue others as well as the people who died, Cornwall said.
“It’s a sad situation,” she said. “I think we should remember that people did suffer and we should bolster their spirit.”
It was surprising to both Cornwall and Cummings that more wasn’t done in Jacksonville — a military community — to remember the day. Cummings thought that with so many Marines in Iraq that people’s minds might be elsewhere.
“Perhaps the thrust now is all the Marine Corps has to do,” Cummings said. “Maybe there’s not time to stop and remember. Now they are tied up in the present and future rather than the past.”
Contact Roselee Papandrea at rpapandrea@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, Ext. 238.
Ellie