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Ceremony at Ivy Tech explores the legacy of 9/11

By Laura Lane 331-4362 | llane@heraldt.com
September 12, 2011

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Speeches from politicians. A giant American flag flying between tall construction cranes. Firefighters in kilts solemnly playing “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes. Tear-brimmed eyes. A lone trumpeter blowing taps. Kids waving Old Glory on wooden sticks.

Bloomington’s 9/11 Remembrance service at 51����Ƶ Sunday afternoon was much like those held around the nation as citizens gathered to pay respects to the 2,977 people who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The good book says to overcome evil with good,” said retired firefighter Harold Godsey, who serves as the Bloomington Fire Department chaplain. “That’s what people in New York learned that frantic day. We saw people with faith believe the worst was over, people with hope that a loved one might return home. And all shared that common bond of love.”

Firefighters Union Local 586 President Bob Loviscek, who drove to New York City to bring back a battered piece of beam from the World Trade Center, asked those assembled to remember the sacrifices of police officers and firefighters who perished.

“Men and women whose job it was to save everyone else lost their lives doing so,” he said.

Nate Percifield was a toddler when the attacks occurred. He was at the ceremony Sunday, camera around his neck, paying close attention. He knows about 9/11 from watching television and is most struck by how some people stayed behind to help instead of running away from the destruction. “There were all those people that risked their lives to save other people they didn’t know,” he said.

Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan made the same point. “We must remember to teach our children that good cannot be stamped out of our character,” he said. “That we live among heroes.”

Ivy Tech Chancellor John Whikehart urged everyone to step into the lobby to view rare historical documents on display from the Remnant Trust — including a 16th century Hebrew Torah scroll, a 1791 King James Bible and a Quran from the 1700s.

“It’s important,” he said, “that we think about religious tolerance in democracy and freedom.”

Monty Howell | Herald-Times

Monty Howell | Herald-Times

Copyright: HeraldTimesOnline.com 2011