A mournful muster was called yesterday. One hundred twenty-five names. Fallen but remembered.
In memorial ceremonies at Navy and Marine Corps bases around San Diego County, men and women in uniform honored the sailors, soldiers and civilian workers who died at the Pentagon a year ago, and vowed to never forget them or quit until terrorists are eradicated.
Also remembered were the local troops killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. Nine Marines from Miramar Marine Corps Air Station perished in crashes of a KC-130 refueling plane and a CH-53E helicopter in January, while three Army bomb-disposal experts from the Point Loma Submarine Base died in April.
The ceremonies were especially poignant for San Diego, with the nation's second-largest concentration of military personnel and local units' continuing involvement in the war against terrorism.
For the Navy, the day started with every warship hoisting the first Navy Jack – a red-and-white-striped, Revolutionary War-era banner bearing a rattlesnake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me."
The service aboard the amphibious assault ship Boxer memorialized the Pentagon casualties of Sept. 11 with a roll call of the dead, followed by a gun salute and an echoing pair of buglers playing taps.
The muster list was recited at several bases to mark the anniversary.
Rear Adm. James Johnson, who witnessed the Pentagon attack, told the 600 sailors and civilians aboard the Boxer, berthed at San Diego Naval Station at 32nd Street, how he and others treated hundreds of victims despite the shock of the event.
"We thought: We have to do something because as hard as this is, somebody is going to survive, somebody is going to be hurt, somebody is going to need to be cared for," said Johnson, who heads the San Diego Naval Medical Center in Balboa Park but was stationed in Washington last year.
At Miramar, a brother of Sgt. Jeannette Winters, a 25-year-old radio operator who died in the KC-130 crash, said the ceremony there held special meaning for him and his family.
"She died Jan. 9, not Sept. 11, on today's anniversary. But if it wasn't for Sept. 11, there wouldn't have been a Jan. 9," said Marine Sgt. Matthew Lee Winters Jr.
His sister's sacrifice and the year's events have made him "tremendously proud" to be a Marine. "I'm going to uphold any standard she had. Through me, she will live on."
Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Jon Gallinetti, who commands Miramar, told about 300 Marines during a flag-raising ceremony that they must recommit themselves to training.
"As America's 911 force, we remember what happened on 9/11," he said. "This is just the start of a long war against terrorism. Operation Enduring Freedom continues. We do not know what's around the next corner, but we must be prepared."
Later yesterday, a Gold Medallion tree was planted in a park at the air base to honor the dead Marines.
"I just hope by the grace of God we don't have to plant any more of these here," said Col. Greg Goodman, Miramar's chief of staff.
At Camp Pendleton, Marine Corps reservists marked the anniversary with a long march. The 640 members of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment took a break at dawn to recall why they were mobilized six months ago and sent here.
"To show our sacrifice to those who gave their lives, we put together this 25-mile battalion march ending with a ceremony," said Maj. J.J. Sega. "We wanted to show the Marines our dedication to this mission we've been called to support."
Sgt. Chris Merkle added: "This is a good gut check for Marines. We're all infantry; this is what we do. The hardest thing for us to do is to walk and fight and not stop."
During the sunrise break, the battalion eulogized the Pentagon victims. A Navy chaplain delivered a prayer and led the Marines in singing "America the Beautiful." A Marine read the list of names.
The battalion commander, Col. Kent Bradford, told the gathering it is time to stop mourning and start thinking about whether they are willing to go into combat if called.
"I ask you to put aside your anger, outrage and contempt for a short while," Bradford said. "Let's remember the Todd Beamers who said 'Let's roll' and who fought to the death" to defy terrorists aboard one of the doomed airliners.
Meanwhile, back aboard the Boxer, Navy Capt. Kenneth Golden, who commands the Boxer Ready Group, said the terrorist attacks didn't demoralize the nation, but instead strengthened it.
"We are the United States of America," Golden said. "We are the greatest nation of free people this world has ever seen, and we will not succumb to mere terrorists."
James W. Crawley:
(619) 542-4559; jim.crawley@uniontrib.com
