from DefendAmerica

Members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District remember the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with a ceremony and Freedom Walk around their compound.

By Mo Ramsey
Afghanistan Engineer District - U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 12, 2005 — While thousands of civilians and members of the U.S. armed forces began their morning Freedom Walk from the Pentagon to the National Mall in remembrance of the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, that claimed the lives of nearly three thousand innocents, members of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District concluded their workday — thanks to time zone differences — with a twilight ceremony complete with a Freedom Walk to show their solidarity with colleagues in Washington, D.C.

Standing before a backdrop of 184 small candles representing those who fell victim when a passenger jet hijacked by terrorists slammed into the Pentagon, Willy Matias, a volunteer civilian deployed to Afghanistan from the New York Engineer District, recalled losing several firefighting friends at the World Trade Center that fateful day.

On Sept. 11, 2001, Matias watched in horror as two planes hit the World Trade Center towers. Piloting Corps vessels, he ferried thousands across the river to safety then feverishly worked for a week without a break at Ground Zero. When the call came to support the Global War on Terrorism here, Matias said he immediately volunteered.

He told the group they are making a difference as they work to reconstruct Afghanistan, a country torn apart by war and violence, and once the home of terrorism.

District Commander U.S. Army Col. Christopher J. Toomey told the assembly that 9-11 was a wake-up call to many Americans who realized that America and the freedoms we enjoy are envied and hated by some around the world. He said that the group’s efforts demonstrate the United States’ resolve in the Global War on Terrorism. He thanked them for their patriotism and selfless service.

Following the lighting of four candles representing New York City’s World Trade Center twin towers, the Pentagon and the crash site of a fourth hijacked plane on a grassy field in Pennsylvania, the group watched as a music video recalled the horror of 9-11. Afterwards, they sang a rendition of “God Bless America.”

Members of the assembly each took one of the 184 candles and walked the perimeter of the District’s compound, once the home of the Iraqi Embassy, in symbolic partnership with the D.C. Freedom Walkers.



U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Afghanistan Engineer District deployed civilians Willy Matias and John Messina stand at attention after lighting candles representing the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks during a twilight remembrance ceremony and Freedom Walk around their compound, Sept. 11, 2005. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Carolyn Markos More photos