Several area political leaders questioned if we have forgotten 9-11 during a Memorial Service held Saturday at the Salem Bryan-Bennett Library.
State Senator Jason Plummer recalled how close the country came together following the 9-11 attacks.
“In the weeks following 9-11 everyone was one. You couldn’t buy a flag anywhere, they were all sold out. That was a great thing to see. But I look where we are today and I wonder if people have forgotten. I see so much division and conflict in society because it really troubles me because on 9-11 we weren’t attacked because of a group or person, we were attacked for what we represent.”
Plummer has made a pledge to himself and encouraged others to do the same to remember the importance of freedom and being united for the remaining 364 days of the year.
State Representative Blaine Wilhour said he shared Plummer’s thoughts on the current political climate and added.
“There’s so much to be thankful for as citizens of this great country and we need to always remember that. There’s a lot of places in this world that don’t have what we have, in fact nowhere in this world has what we have.”
Supreme Court Justice David Overstreet reflected on the current Smithsonian Institution’s Voices and Votes Democracy in America display at the library in his comments.
“Honor today our heroes from September 11 and the days and years that follow. And also rededicate ourselves as Americans as we the people to live up to the promise that is American that we continue to strive for liberty and justice for all.”
The ceremony also included comments from Salem Mayor Nic Farley and Marion County Board Chair Debbie Smith. MC Wyatt Colclasure read from County Music Star Alan Jackson’s son Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning that honored the victims and responders of 9-11. The program also included the singing of My Country Tis of Thee and the National Anthem.
Those in attendance sat between the panels of the current Smithsonian Display which Justice Overstreet encouraged all residents to see and reflect before the display ends on October 2nd.
Dignitaries at the Bryan-Bennett Library’s Memorial Day Program. Left to right: State Representative Blaine Wilhour, MC Wyatt Colclasure, Supreme Court Judges David Overstreet, Salem Mayor Nic Farley, Marion County Board Chair Debbie Smith, and State Senators Jason Plummer and Terry Bryant. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Musicians at the Bryan-Bennett Library Memorial Service (left to right) Tom Baker on trumpet, Martha Stiehl on the keyboard, and Randy Soger as a baritone. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
