News>San Angelo honors fallen at Sept. 11 ceremony
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Capt. Chris Mowrey, San Angelo Fire Department, rings the bell three times for three sets during the September 11th Ceremony outside the San Angelo Fine Arts Museum in San Angelo Sept. 11. The ringing of the bell is a long standing tradition for firefighters to honor those who have fallen in the line of duty. (Air Force Photo/ Staff Sgt. Tsuyoshi Shinzato)
Students from Angelo Catholic School stand around the September 11 memorial site outside the San Angelo Fine Arts Museum in San Angelo Sept. 11. The memorial was built to honor those whose lives were lost in the Sept. 11 tragedy. The center of the memorial features a piece from one of the fallen, ground zero towers. (Air Force Photo/ Staff Sgt. Tsuyoshi Shinzato)
An elderly women holds a flag in support of the September 11 Ceremony outside the San Angelo Fine Arts Museum in San Angelo Sept. 11. Members of the San Angelo community came together to honor the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11 tragedy. (Air Force Photo/ Staff Sgt. Tsuyoshi Shinzato)
Steven Quade, San Angelo Police Department traffic investigator, salutes the flag while Detective Craig Thompson holds his weapon at attention as part of the color guard during the September 11th Ceremony outside the San Angelo Fine Arts Museum in San Angelo Sept. 11. The ceremony was held to honor the victims of the Sept. 11 tragedy, especially those who gave their own lives to rescue others. (Air Force Photo/ Staff Sgt. Tsuyoshi Shinzato)
by Staff Sgt. Tsuyoshi Shinzato
17th Training Wing/ Public Affairs
9/12/2012 - SAN ANGELO, Texas- -- While Americans everywhere paused to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001 only a few could remember the details of that day as vividly as Rosey Velez's.
"The sound of the building coming down...that's a sound I'll never forget." he said.
Rosey, a retired chief of the New York Critical Response Team, shared his personal story from the eyes of a first responder to a crowd that gathered to remember the events of Sept. 11 in a ceremony held in San Angelo.
"After the collapse, it was a whole different ball game," Velez said. "It was a lot of reaching out to people and not getting answers and it was scary. It was really, really scary."
The ceremony was held at the 9/11 memorial next to the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts Tuesday, where Col. Jeffrey McBride, 17th Mission Support vice commander, also spoke. He explained that the local memorial was made from the New York rubble. He expressed how wonderful it was to see the memorial grow and draw people together.
As the ceremony drew to a close Capt. Chris Mowrey, San Angelo Police Department, reminded the crowd that these ceremonies are not only a time to remember the tragedy that struck the United States but more importantly it's a day to celebrate all the lives that were saved.
