'One way or another my life was about to change' - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports

By DON O'BRIEN
Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Quincy Fire Lt. Demond Dade will never forget.

"This is the one event that helped bring Americans back together," Dade said of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "It's one of those moments when you remember what you were doing at the time that it happened. I was off, and I had come into Central Station when the first plane went into the building. This was before HD, so I was like, ‘Wow, what are they watching?' It looked so real, and they told me what happened. It was very somber after that."

Dade was among a group of about 100 people who gathered during the noon hour Tuesday at City Hall Plaza for a remembrance ceremony on the 11th anniversary of the attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and rural Pennsylvania. The crowd was filled with members of the Fire Department, the Quincy Police Department, Adams County EMS and the Adams County Sheriff's Department. A large group of city employees also attended the ceremony.

The podium for the day's speakers was set up 50 feet to the east of the World Trade Center artifact the city received last year. Flags flew at half-staff, whipping in the wind nearly even with the top of the 15-foot, 7,000-pound segment of antenna tower that once carried a TV antenna manufactured by Quincy-based Harris Broadcasting.

Speakers remembered where they were when the attacks came on that fateful Tuesday morning in September.

"Initially, I was confused and frustrated," police Sgt. Adam Yates told the crowd. "As the smoke began to clear, it became evident what had happened and I became angry. As a rookie patrol officer and on inactive reserve status with the United States Marine Corps, I know that one way or another my life was about to change. It's hard to believe that it's been 11 years since that day. We in the law enforcement community have seen many changes. We've seen tighter security, stricter laws, and our need to be more prepared for what could happen and how to respond to it if it does.

"Thank God, we have not had to endure another such tragedy ... yet."

Other speakers were Quincy firefighter Mick Crist, Quincy police Sgt. Bryan Dusch, Michael Kerker of the Adams County Ambulance Service and Adams County Sheriff Brent Fischer. The ceremony was overseen by Brother Ed Arambasich, who serves as Quincy Fire Department chaplain.

A remembrance wreath was laid at the base of the city's Sept. 11 monument as taps was played by Samuel Flentje, a Quincy Junior High School seventh-grader, and Beth Young, a retired educator. About two dozen doves were released at the end of the 20-minute ceremony.

City Hall has been the central meeting place for Quincyans to memorialize the people who died on 9/11 since the day of the attack. That night, a prayer service was held inside the City Council chambers. In subsequent years, the plaza has been host to ceremonies like Tuesday's.

Quincy Mayor John Spring said the city will always pause on Sept. 11 to remember those lost.

"We plan to have a small service each and every year to remember this day," Spring said.

"It's kind of our generation's Pearl Harbor," he said after the ceremony. "I know those who fought in World World II and even Korea, they think back to that infamous day in December. This has become our day of remembrance of the heroism that took place. Obviously, there's the devastation and the fact that it could happen again. It has brought all of us together."

Spring has seen an uptick in activity in the plaza since the artifact was dedicated last year on 10th anniversary of the attacks.

"I think our plaza is a great place for our monument," he said. "It brings people here. It's amazing how people will come here and sit and look at this artifact and learn about it with our plaques."

-- dobrien@whig.com/221-3370

— An earlier version of this story omitted one of the speakers at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony.