JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Sept. 11, 2021, marks the 20th anniversary of the devastating terrorist attacks that changed America forever. It was a day that will live in the memories of everyone who saw it happen. It was a day that will never be forgotten.
As the years pass by, the memories of the 2,996 individuals who lost their lives at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, continue to live on.
Maj. Jonathan Leetch, Air Education Training Command instructor pilot at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, along with members of Air Force auxiliary programs, will commemorate the tragic event by marching 100 miles from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, to ground zero in Manhattan, New York City.
“The idea was originally founded by the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape instructors at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst as a way to pay homage to those lost in the 9/11 attacks,” Leetch said. “It is also to show respect to the first responders and our brothers and sisters overseas.”
The participants will start the march from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in the early morning of Sept. 10, carrying an American flag that was flown in combat over Afghanistan. The march will be 100 miles and will take approximately 30 to 35 hours for them to reach ground zero.
They will arrive at the memorial in the early evening of Sept. 11.
“Once we get to the memorial, we will present the flag to a 9/11 Memorial Museum representative,” Leetch said. “The flag will be flown over the memorial Sept. 12.”
For Leetch, this march has other meaningful purposes.
“Do you remember how together we were after 9/11? The worst in humanity brought out the best in our nation," he said. “It didn’t matter what color you were, where you came from, what your beliefs were, we were all proud of being an American. We put petty things aside and pulled together in the same direction. We need to remember what we were capable of when we weren’t so divided.”
Leetch believes that this march will keep patriotism alive and help continue the stories of individuals who are not alive to tell their own.
“As Americans, we really cannot forget what happened on that day," he said. “There are too many people not here with us today that deserve to have their stories told and to have their heroic and selfless actions live on forever.”