City of Menifee holds Remembrance Ceremony for 9/11
Story and photos by Tommie Brown, Staff Writer Menifee seemed to hum all day Wednesday with echoes of remembrance and patriotism for the e...
http://www.menifee247.com/2019/09/city-of-menifee-holds-remembrance-ceremony-for-9-11.html
Story and photos by Tommie Brown, Staff Writer
Menifee seemed to hum all day Wednesday with echoes of remembrance and patriotism for the events of 9/11. Arguably the grandest ceremony of the day however, belongs to the City of Menifee’s Remembrance Ceremony, held at Central Park Wednesday evening.
A two-hour event hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department, the Remembrance Ceremony brought together both a hometown warmth, as well as a grieving testament that rightfully accompanied Sept. 11.
When visitors entered into the park, they were welcomed first by members of the Valley Resource Center, who actively work within the community to better the lives of veterans. Secondly, visitors were greeted by sidewalk walkways lined with white paper bags covered in drawings and words -- 2,977 bags, to be exact. One bag for each victim who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks.
City staff worked with nearly every school within the MUSD as well as multiple schools in Romoland to get classrooms involved with not only the event, but with remembering 9/11. Since no children within MUSD were alive for the events of 2001, the bags served as an opportunity for teachers and families to retell the stories and lessons of the attacks. Children were given a blank white bag and asked to draw something that they felt represented the history of the day.
Each bag was also given a sticker that displayed the name of an individual who lost their life, and was represented by a small light inside each bag that would illuminate as the sun sank down progressively through the event. For every NYPD officer who lost their life, a bag illuminated with a blue light. And for every FDNY officer who died, a bag glowed with a red light. All other bags represented civilians’ lives lost, which glowed white.
Alongside the bags on the sidewalks were sandwich boards of information regarding the 9/11 events. From history, to statistics, to where New York City is now, visitors were welcome to walk through the lanterned lights and read through the events that took place 18 years ago. Tables were also set up with framed news articles on the days of and directly after the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked.
The most notable display of the event was the massive American flag flying high above the park, raised by a ladder attached to a firetruck. Illuminated by a spotlight and blue accent lights, the flag appropriately stole the show.
The evening carried on with speakers and singers who led the audience through an emotional and thoughtful ceremony. Starting with a solemn yet emotive bagpipe tribute by USMC veteran Joel M. Daniel, Pastor Kasey Crawford of Elevation Church then led the opening prayer and message of the ceremony. Crawford opened up the evening by giving words of encouragement and hope to remember that great nations and unity comes when we all choose to do our small part of making our communities kinder, and more loving places.
Following Crawford came the NJROTC of Paloma Valley High School, leading the Presentation of Colors as well as the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Bill Zimmerman then took the stage to give the event’s introduction and welcome. Zimmerman warmly expressed his gratitude for the service members in attendance as well as the Menifee community for showing up to pay their respects to both those impacted by 9/11 as well as Menifee as a whole.
Councilwoman Lesa Sobek spoke on behalf of the City Council, and opened the stage to the first event speaker, US Navy Commander Nico Melendez.
Melendez is a community member who was deeply involved with both 9/11 and events in the wake of the aftermath for years to come. Melendez, who was originally scheduled to be in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, has spent the last 18 years engrossed in the challenges America has faced since that day. From being appointed by the Bush administration to oversee TSA security updates in American airports directly after 9/11, to deploying as active duty during the war on terrorism, Melendez hasn’t had the luxury of “forgetting.”
“All memorials on Sept. 11 begin with ‘Never Forget,” said Melendez. “But by Oct. 1, we have forgotten ...We were the most patriotic nation I had ever seen on Sept. 12. And while I don’t ever want anything like 9/11 to happen again, I do wish we could get that unity back ... I hope that what we never forget is how proud we are to live in America.”
Chloe Kaas took the stage next to sing “God Bless the USA,” followed by the second speaker of the night, Deputy Roger Doyle of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Josh Hermen, Korynn Steenhoek, and Eden Steenhoek performed “America the Beautiful” and opened the stage to Cal Fire's Truck 76 Crew to say a few words on behalf of the Menifee firefighters.
The final speaker of the night was Pastor Jeff Johnson. Having been called to Ground Zero as a chaplain within days of the 9/11 attacks, Johnson first hand saw the devastation left behind after 9/11.
Johnson spoke of his feelings of inadequacies amid the rubble and the aching, and his struggles in dealing with the feeling of being just “a simple man.”
“I felt as though I didn’t belong, or that there was nothing I could possibly do to help. I was just one simple man,” said Johnson. “But what I saw were 'simple people' from all around putting tents up in the area to feed people, give water ... energy bars ... offering areas to rest. But more than that, it was across the nation where 'simple people' made an impact. Like being respectful to one another ... 9/11 was a time where we cared for other people. Even just our next door neighbors.”
Johnson continued on to talk about the deep rooted desire to love our neighbors as ourselves, and ended his message and the ceremony with a borrowed quote that, “The way we honor those in Sept. 11 is to remember where our hearts were on Sept. 12." He continued by saying, “This means to go back to caring for people and respecting them. United as a country means united as individuals.”
The ceremony came to a close with Anahi Rodriguez singing “God Bless America” and Daniel playing “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes, with two vertical spotlights creating two columns of lights to represent the two fallen Trade Center towers.
As guests exited the amphitheater area, they were guided by the now fully illuminated memorial bags along the pathways, as well as offered refreshments, time to view memorial displays. They had the opportunity to leave handwritten notes on posters addressed to the FDNY, NYPD, and PAPD. The posters of thanks will be sent directly to the organizations by the City of Menifee.
The first of its kind, the Remembrance Ceremony was a success for those in attendance.
“Our Mayor and City Council want to ensure that we echo the sentiment 'We Will Never Forget,' ” said Community Service Coordinator Kristina Rinehart. “We do so by highlighting the sacrifices made by the heroes of that day, and honoring the spirit of the innocent lives lost. We decided to get schools involved so that a new generation of youth understood the magnitude of that day.”
Pointed out by Cal Fire, the current graduating class in America is the first ever class where not one student was born at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both the City of Menifee staff, as well as teachers and educators within Menifee schools, strive to keep the memory of Sept. 11 alive in the community. And that was successfully done by reaching out to the younger generations, and instilling in them that Sept. 11 is a day where we remember the importance of community, sacrifice, kindness, and thankfulness of being an American.
Menifee seemed to hum all day Wednesday with echoes of remembrance and patriotism for the events of 9/11. Arguably the grandest ceremony of the day however, belongs to the City of Menifee’s Remembrance Ceremony, held at Central Park Wednesday evening.
A two-hour event hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department, the Remembrance Ceremony brought together both a hometown warmth, as well as a grieving testament that rightfully accompanied Sept. 11.
When visitors entered into the park, they were welcomed first by members of the Valley Resource Center, who actively work within the community to better the lives of veterans. Secondly, visitors were greeted by sidewalk walkways lined with white paper bags covered in drawings and words -- 2,977 bags, to be exact. One bag for each victim who lost their lives in the Sept. 11 attacks.
City staff worked with nearly every school within the MUSD as well as multiple schools in Romoland to get classrooms involved with not only the event, but with remembering 9/11. Since no children within MUSD were alive for the events of 2001, the bags served as an opportunity for teachers and families to retell the stories and lessons of the attacks. Children were given a blank white bag and asked to draw something that they felt represented the history of the day.
Each bag was also given a sticker that displayed the name of an individual who lost their life, and was represented by a small light inside each bag that would illuminate as the sun sank down progressively through the event. For every NYPD officer who lost their life, a bag illuminated with a blue light. And for every FDNY officer who died, a bag glowed with a red light. All other bags represented civilians’ lives lost, which glowed white.
Alongside the bags on the sidewalks were sandwich boards of information regarding the 9/11 events. From history, to statistics, to where New York City is now, visitors were welcome to walk through the lanterned lights and read through the events that took place 18 years ago. Tables were also set up with framed news articles on the days of and directly after the Twin Towers and Pentagon were attacked.
The evening carried on with speakers and singers who led the audience through an emotional and thoughtful ceremony. Starting with a solemn yet emotive bagpipe tribute by USMC veteran Joel M. Daniel, Pastor Kasey Crawford of Elevation Church then led the opening prayer and message of the ceremony. Crawford opened up the evening by giving words of encouragement and hope to remember that great nations and unity comes when we all choose to do our small part of making our communities kinder, and more loving places.
Following Crawford came the NJROTC of Paloma Valley High School, leading the Presentation of Colors as well as the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Bill Zimmerman then took the stage to give the event’s introduction and welcome. Zimmerman warmly expressed his gratitude for the service members in attendance as well as the Menifee community for showing up to pay their respects to both those impacted by 9/11 as well as Menifee as a whole.
Councilwoman Lesa Sobek spoke on behalf of the City Council, and opened the stage to the first event speaker, US Navy Commander Nico Melendez.
Melendez is a community member who was deeply involved with both 9/11 and events in the wake of the aftermath for years to come. Melendez, who was originally scheduled to be in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, has spent the last 18 years engrossed in the challenges America has faced since that day. From being appointed by the Bush administration to oversee TSA security updates in American airports directly after 9/11, to deploying as active duty during the war on terrorism, Melendez hasn’t had the luxury of “forgetting.”
Chloe Kaas took the stage next to sing “God Bless the USA,” followed by the second speaker of the night, Deputy Roger Doyle of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Josh Hermen, Korynn Steenhoek, and Eden Steenhoek performed “America the Beautiful” and opened the stage to Cal Fire's Truck 76 Crew to say a few words on behalf of the Menifee firefighters.
The final speaker of the night was Pastor Jeff Johnson. Having been called to Ground Zero as a chaplain within days of the 9/11 attacks, Johnson first hand saw the devastation left behind after 9/11. Johnson spoke of his feelings of inadequacies amid the rubble and the aching, and his struggles in dealing with the feeling of being just “a simple man.”
“I felt as though I didn’t belong, or that there was nothing I could possibly do to help. I was just one simple man,” said Johnson. “But what I saw were 'simple people' from all around putting tents up in the area to feed people, give water ... energy bars ... offering areas to rest. But more than that, it was across the nation where 'simple people' made an impact. Like being respectful to one another ... 9/11 was a time where we cared for other people. Even just our next door neighbors.”
Johnson continued on to talk about the deep rooted desire to love our neighbors as ourselves, and ended his message and the ceremony with a borrowed quote that, “The way we honor those in Sept. 11 is to remember where our hearts were on Sept. 12." He continued by saying, “This means to go back to caring for people and respecting them. United as a country means united as individuals.”
The ceremony came to a close with Anahi Rodriguez singing “God Bless America” and Daniel playing “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes, with two vertical spotlights creating two columns of lights to represent the two fallen Trade Center towers.
As guests exited the amphitheater area, they were guided by the now fully illuminated memorial bags along the pathways, as well as offered refreshments, time to view memorial displays. They had the opportunity to leave handwritten notes on posters addressed to the FDNY, NYPD, and PAPD. The posters of thanks will be sent directly to the organizations by the City of Menifee.
The first of its kind, the Remembrance Ceremony was a success for those in attendance.
“Our Mayor and City Council want to ensure that we echo the sentiment 'We Will Never Forget,' ” said Community Service Coordinator Kristina Rinehart. “We do so by highlighting the sacrifices made by the heroes of that day, and honoring the spirit of the innocent lives lost. We decided to get schools involved so that a new generation of youth understood the magnitude of that day.”
Pointed out by Cal Fire, the current graduating class in America is the first ever class where not one student was born at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Both the City of Menifee staff, as well as teachers and educators within Menifee schools, strive to keep the memory of Sept. 11 alive in the community. And that was successfully done by reaching out to the younger generations, and instilling in them that Sept. 11 is a day where we remember the importance of community, sacrifice, kindness, and thankfulness of being an American.
