'We are resilient': Ceremony reflects on the 25th anniversary of 9/11

“Growing up, our little town regularly hosted New York firefighters,” said Laurie Vail, associate director of the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, during a ceremony Friday recognizing the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Vail’s father worked for a company that manufactured fire trucks — specifically for dense, urban environments like New York City. Vail said New York firefighters would often come to Clintonville to inspect and test drive the trucks. In turn, Vail’s father would sometimes go to New York as part of his job.

“Over the years, real friendships formed between the generations of firefighters and the generations of factory workers, all bound by a single mission: saving lives,” she said.

Video: Milwaukee VA commemorates 25th anniversary of 9/11 with Wood National Cemetery observance

A week after the attacks — which killed nearly 3,000 people, including 343 New York firefighters — Vail’s father was sent to New York to assess the viability of Clintonville trucks involved in the tragedy.

When her father returned, Vail saw a changed man.

“Pain, sorrow, grief,” she said. “He spoke quietly about the courage of those who ran into the towers, many of whom he knew personally and who never made it back out. … I remember thinking there could never be joy again, that we would never be the same.”

But Vail’s father and his company did something that happened all across the country in the wake of the tragedy: They picked up themselves up and committed to doing what they could for their country.

The company was tasked with building a new fire truck for New York in four months. A typical truck takes nine to 12 months to build, Vail said.

The resolve in the factory — and all of Clintonville — was remarkable, Vail said.

“The whole town wrapped its arms around that mission, and people worked around the clock for weeks,” she said. “On a snowy January morning, the town stood shoulder to shoulder on Main Street and sent off a brand new fire truck to New York City, with sirens blaring and hand-painted murals on the truck honoring the friends they had lost.

“Workers were cheering, families in tears, grieving their distant friends and giving them what comfort they could. Watching that moment, I knew we would smile again. We are resilient. We are proud. We are kind. That’s what unity looks like.”

From sorrow to resolve

Vail’s remembrance of that fateful day 25 years ago was echoed by many of the speakers at Friday’s ceremony in Wood National Cemetery. They spoke of the shock, the sadness and the horror, that was gradually replaced by determination, resolve and a commitment to serve.

Bruce Voigt, executive director of the Milwaukee Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration, was serving with the Air Force in South Carolina when the attacks occurred and was called to duty immediately. He said he still remembers the faces in the room during the battle staff meeting.

“There was shock. There was disbelief, but there was something else: determination,” he said. “Our nation had been attacked, and we had a mission. … No one knew what the next hour would bring, but we knew our duty.”

Looking over the cemetery, he said the word “duty” has special meaning to those who serve.

“We are surrounded by men and women who understood duty,” he said. “Every headstone represents a person who made a promise to defend our nation.”

Stepping up to serve

While those already serving stepped up after 9/11, the U.S. Armed Forces saw a surge in enlistment. Some 250,000 Americans signed up in the year after the attacks for what came to be known as the Global War on Terrorism. 

“As we remember the tragedy of 9/11, we also remember those who stepped forward in its aftermath to defend our nation and protect our freedom,” said David Barnes, assistant director of Wood National Cemetery. “From the tragedy emerged a generation of men and women who chose service over self.”

Thousands were killed in the decades-long conflict that follow 9/11, including 136 from Wisconsin. Seven are interred in Wood National Cemetery:

• Spc. Scott T. Nagorski of Greenfield
• Cpl. Stephen W. Castner of Cedarburg
• Sgt. 1st Class Scott J. Brown of Brookfield
• Spc. Michelle M. Witmer of New Berlin
• Spc. Michael A. McGlothin of Hartford and Milwaukee
• Cpl. Adrian V. Soltau of Milwaukee
• Staff Sgt. Todd R. Cornell of West Bend and Menomonee Falls

Wreaths were placed at each of those gravesites during the ceremony, as their biographies were read. A moment of silence was observed as a bugler played taps.

Honoring their sacrifice

“These seven heroes buried here gave of themselves in service to our nation,” said Darcie Greuel, manager of the Milwaukee VA’s Post-9/11 Military to VA program, which works specifically with Veterans who joined the service after Sept. 11, 2001.

“Their legacy lives on in their families, their fellow service members and in all of us who are gathered here today. May we honor them not only with our words, but through the way we live — with courage, compassion, selflessness and service.”

Keynote speaker Col. David J. Smith, the Wisconsin National Guard’s inspector general, similarly lauded the sacrifice they made.

“They answered the call in the aftermath of 9/11,” he said. “They stepped up to serve and courageously put themselves in harm’s way for the people around them.” 

He said that in the days after the attacks, “never forget” became a rallying cry.

“Twenty-five years later, it still is. Today, as we honor these seven. It is impossible to put into words what their sacrifice means to an entire generation.”