Polk pauses to remember

BARTOW — An American flag was translucent in the dawn light, suspended from a Bartow firetruck ladder high over the parade grounds on Wednesday. Below, cadets of Summerlin Military Academy at Bartow High School lined up in formation to participate in the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

“This is a very significant point in the history of the United States,” retired U.S. Army Col. James Jones, the academy's senior army instructor, said in an interview. He noted it was the first attack on American territory since Pearl Harbor and the first on the U.S. mainland since the War of 1812. “It's very important to keep that alive in these kids' memories so they understand the sacrifices that were made that day by fellow Americans of all nationalities, all creeds, all beliefs.”

That day, Jones was on duty at Special Operations Command Central at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa.

“As soon as I saw that, we started to mobilize all of our troops and prepare for war,” Jones said.

After Summerlin's color guard raised a second American flag to half-staff on the school's flagpole, the academy's guidance counselor, Deborah Brister, sang the national anthem and then Melodie Flores said a prayer.

“Thank You, Lord, for everything you have done for all of the servicemen,” she prayed.

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd, along with other district officials and school board members, listened as Summerlin Cadet Elizabeth Prezkop talked about why the nation paused today and lowered the flag to half-staff.

“As Americans, it is our responsibility to pay our respects to the mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, husbands, wives, friends and to the many family members of the fallen to ensure that, even though they are no longer with us, the memory of their sacrifice shall never perish,” she said. “We are here to honor our first responders — our servicemen and women, law enforcement officers, firefighters, paramedics and others ... who so bravely risked their lives as they ran into the flames, the smoke, the darkness to bring others back to light. We are here because they stood up.”

The attacks killed 2,996 people and injured more than 6,000 others at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. More than 340 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers, and 55 military personnel died that day — and continue to die from the aftereffects. By comparison, the attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 others.

During Wednesday's service, an emergency phone call was played from Melissa Doi, who worked for IQ Financial Systems on the 83rd floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

“Please — it's very hot,” the woman pleaded with a 9-1-1 operator. She told the operator there were five people trapped in a stairwell with her. “The floor's completely engulfed. We're on the floor and we can't breathe.”

Doi gave the operator a final message for her mother and asked the 9-1-1 operator to deliver it to her before Doi and her co-workers died.

On the damp parade grounds in Bartow on Wednesday morning, wreaths, along with first-responder and military hats, were placed at the school's Sept. 11 Memorial, which consisted of the shape of a pentagon, twin towers and an airplane, all painted black.

Col. Jones and Cadet Phillip McDonald laid the wreath for the military servicemen and women who died. Bartow Fire Chief Jay Robinson and his daughter, Cadet Ashleigh Robinson, laid the wreath for the firefighters. Bartow Police Chief Joe Hall and Cadet Brendan Dorman placed the wreath for police officers. Kozette Hubbard, a retired paramedic and a current teacher of BHS Medical and Fire Academy, along with Cadet Jacob Chambers, laid the wreath for emergency medical technicians — with Hubbard also leaving a challenge coin. And BHS International Baccalaureate Principal Brian Andrews, Linda Monroe of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Cadet Haili Chavez laid the wreath in memory of the civilians who died.

Andrews is a native New Yorker and lost five friends that day.

“It's been a heartbreaking day on a very personal level since September 11, 2001,” Andrews said later. “However, I am always flooded with hope and pride when I see amazing tributes like we had at Summerlin Academy today. ... The more time that passes, the more important it is to maintain the days of remembrance across the nation, particularly with honoring our brave men and women first responders and military, while connecting today with service to others. That's the difference that eases the sorrow at the end of the day. That's what my friends represented — selflessness.”

A 21-gun salute punctured the stillness, followed by a solemn playing of taps by Cadets Jesse Moon and Andrew Dorman.

Before the service was finished, Prezkop reminded everyone of what the nation was like after the attacks.

“Everyone had one unified purpose — to live and to help others to live,” Prezkop said.

Kimberly C. Moore can be reached at kmoore@theledger.com or 863-802-7514. Follow her on Twitter at @KMooreTheLedger.