Members of the Albuquerque Police Department Honor Guard fire a salute in Civic Plaza Saturday afternoon to commemorate first responders who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks 20 years ago. (Roberto E. Rosales / )
While the bagpipes howled “Amazing Grace”, helicopters passed overhead and a gun salute roared in the Civic Plaza, pain was still felt.
Twenty years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Rosy Macarah is still looking for answers. Her husband Matthew, an army veteran who served in Afghanistan, is still awakening from nightmares.
“We suffer as a nation. We continue to suffer. We are still in the process of healing in the here and now, ”she said as tears ran down her face. “… I hurt. I am still in pain. This day brings back so many memories. … I look back and think, 20 years later – what did we do? What has changed?'”
The atmosphere was filled with conflicting emotions as Macarah and dozens of others had to endure the searing heat on Saturday afternoon to attend the September 11th memorial ceremony in downtown Albuquerque.
Phillip Sanchez, a member of the Bernalillo County Fire Department, speaks with 7-year-old Santiago Garcia Urioste during a ceremony honoring the first responders who were killed in the 9/11 attacks. Santiago’s mother, Erin Urioste, said they had come to pay their respects. (Roberto E. Rosales / )
State and local leaders, senior firefighters and police officers turned to the crowd as the names of the thousands killed in the attacks scrolled on the pavilion screen behind them.
It was one of countless commemorations across the country as America celebrated the 20th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said America experienced tragedy and heroism two decades ago “on a scale none of us had ever seen in our lifetime.”
“We remember it was a day that was going to break us, but it was the courage and selflessness of our first responders that immediately confirmed the strength of our nation so clearly,” he said. “We endured, we are changed and we will not be forgotten. We carry on, we have rebuilt, we have faced new challenges and mastered them, and we will emerge from them ever stronger as a country. “
Keller said he believed the anniversary had taken on a new meaning.
“Today 9/11 does not represent fear; it does not represent a wounded nation trying to heal. Instead, it is reminiscent of heroism that was seemingly unimaginable but in reality is very real, ”he said. “I see it here with us today and I know that you have it in your heart.”
The crowd was flanked by Albuquerque Police Department and Albuquerque Fire Department cadets. Behind the crowd, 343 firefighting equipments were scattered on the sidewalk to symbolize the first responders lost in the attacks.
A huge American flag was blowing lightly in the wind, lined up between the ladders of two fire engines on Third Street. People in the crowd could be seen wiping their tears with padded handkerchiefs. Others clapped for the speakers and recorded the event on smartphones.
In the hours leading up to the ceremony, AFR firefighters climbed the equivalent of 110 floors in the stairwell of a downtown bank building in memory of New York City firefighters who died at the World Trade Center, while Bernalillo County firefighters 343 minutes stood at attention for a long time before 343 bunker equipment was rung as a ceremonial bell every full hour.
Some participants, including Camille Diaz, tossed small notes into the empty fire fighting equipment.
“It was a thank you for your service and for looking at the other fallen firefighters,” said Diaz. “To look over the firefighters who keep doing what they do.”
The Albuquerque Fire Brigade Honor Guard stand at attention as the national anthem is sung in the Civic Plaza on Saturday afternoon. (Roberto E. Rosales / )
At the Civic Plaza memorial, Macarah sat without her husband.
She said the anniversary – along with the recent Afghanistan withdrawal – hit him hard and he couldn’t watch the ceremonies on television for more than a few minutes.
Macarah said the family spent much of the war wondering if he would come home. Now, she said, there are feelings of anger, disillusionment – and asks herself, “Was it worth it?”
“This sacrifice is close to my heart because at the end of the day we left and nothing happened,” she said. “And we made people suffer. There are a lot of mixed feelings. It’s heartbreaking and that tells me we’re not cured of it yet. “
Ortencia Gallegos called the ceremony “a great honor” for those who died in the attacks and the war that followed, a sacrifice that “comes close” because her husband served in Vietnam.
Gallegos said she remembered her son calling and telling her to turn on the TV. She said one tower was hit and hit the second plane within minutes. She collapsed on her bed “devastated”.
Bagpiper James Lamb will play Saturday afternoon in memory of the 343 New York firefighters who died in the 11th attacks (Roberto E. Rosales / )
“I started crying because I thought, ‘All the people who are going to die in this building. What do you think? Do you think of your families back home? ‘ “She said,” You never thought this would happen to us. “
Gallegos said the country needed to regain the unity that came after the attacks and that disintegrated over the years.
“Today, this time, we are all holding our throats to tell the truth,” she said. “This incident had nothing to do with politics. And yet that is exactly what is going on now. It says “Who is a Republican? Who is a Democrat? ‘ You should think of us and protect us. “
The author of Elizabeth Tucker magazine contributed to this report.
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