U.S. Army Reserve honors Soldiers lost on 9/11

Story by SSG Shawn Morris on 09/10/2019

FORT TOTTEN, N.Y. Intermittent voice chatter and static from firefighters’ handheld radios made for chilling accompaniment as a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace” during the 9/11 Day of Remembrance ceremony here Sept. 8.

This annual event honors the six Soldiers of the U.S. Army Reserve’s former 77th Regional Support Command who were killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

“Today, we remember those six Soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Maj. Gen. Mark Palzer, commanding general of the U.S. Army Reserve’s 99th Readiness Division. “These six individuals are lost from our lives forever, but their memory will never be lost.”

The event was hosted by the U.S. Army Reserve’s 6th Brigade, 102nd Training Division, and was attended by local firefighters, police, first responders, military personnel and family members of the six fallen Soldiers.

“On the morning of 9/11, I still remember walking to work in Chicago, and when I got there everybody was looking at the TV screen,” said Palzer, a New York native. “The first thought that came to mind was of all of my friends and all my relatives who worked and lived near the World Trade Center.”

These six Soldiers and their families marked the first of many who would sacrifice during the wars that followed the 2001 attacks. More than 300,000 Soldiers have deployed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Resolute Support and other missions across the globe.

“We’ve been plunged into conflicts since that day, and we continue to fight for maintaining American ideals and maintaining freedom around the world,” Palzer said. “Our greatest resources are the men and women in uniform you see before you; we must ensure they are the best-trained, best-equipped, best Soldiers in the world.

“This helps the Army Reserve remain the most capable, combat-ready and lethal federal reserve force in the nation’s history,” he added.