The Montgomery County Parks and Recreation Department organized a National Day of Service and Remembrance event Tuesday, Sept. 11 at the Government Center on Roanoke Street in Christiansburg.
The Peace Sculpture outside the Montgomery County Government Center was constructed from a piece of steel from one of the World Trade Centers destroyed Sept.11, 2001.
Military personnel and their spouses over the age of 50 years old or older were invited for a Pinning Ceremony and White Rose Presentation.
Kemvia Adams-Bush, Seniors Supervisor welcomed attendees in the Board Room. Congressman Morgan Griffith spoke of his appreciation of the veterans who served and defend our country.
“I am thankful to join this event. God bless everyone here and to the U.S.A,” Griffith said.
County Administrator Craig Meadows thanked the family members who stayed home while military members served their duty.
Meadows explained the Peace Structure located in the front of the Montgomery County Government Center.
After 9-11 and the collapse of the World Trade Centers in New York City, two members, Reverend Dick Gilbert and Steve MacMurray, of the Montgomery County Rotary Club drove to New York in May 2002 to retrieve a steel beam.
Gilbert was the president of the Rotary Club and MacMurray was the owner of Blacksburg’s Campus Exxon.
The Rotary Club of Virginia Tech had one objective for the steel beam: to create something that could stand as a symbol for international understanding, peace and goodwill.
The Rotary Club asked Virginia Tech architects Scott Hurst and Matt Gart to create a design based on this objective.
Local sculptor Larry Bechtel began shaping the steel beam. With steel parts attached to the beam, Bechtel created a bell. This bell has no clapper.
“It’s meant to be a temple gong, one that makes a soundless sound, a place to meditate. Everyone can hear its tone by seeing it,” Bechtel said.
The Peace Sculpture was donated by the Rotary Club and erected in front of the Montgomery County Government Center in October 2006 along with marble and bronze placard honoring the lives of those lost on 9-11.
It states “a symbol of the need for world peace and understanding, and in remembrance of the many of all nations who have sacrificed their lives for that cause.”
During the ceremony, Alan Johnson, an Army veteran, sang the National Anthem while the Pulaski County Criminal Justice Forensic Science Corp provided an honor guard.
Special veteran pins and certificates were distributed to veterans. White roses and certificates were given to spouses of veterans.
Mayor Micheal Barber recalled where he was on 9-11. He was working at the bank when his wife called with the news of the first plane and then the second plane hit the towers.
“The fearlessness of the first responders into those buildings was astounding astonishing. To those who serviced our country before, during and after that horrific terrorist act is something to be appreciated,” Barber said.
Joanne Watson, formerly of New York City, attended the remembrance event. She worked in the banking industry in World Trade Center Tower 1 and 2 until she moved to Blacksburg in 1996 with her husband, who had worked for the New York City Transit Authority.
Watson was on jury duty Feb. 26, 1993 during the first bombing of the World Trade Center.
On 9-11, Watson tried frantically to call her brother who worked in the Circuit Court buildings near the World Trade Center and friends still working in the World Trade Center.
Due to cell phone circuits being down, it took three days to make contact and hear everyone was safe.
“I think too many people have forgotten 9-11. I give credit to Montgomery County for conducting this remembrance ceremony today,” Watson said.
