Locals remember 9/11

For many in eastern New Mexico, the 16th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, was an opportunity not only for remembrance but also a reflection on current events.

"The pain of that day is instilled in our hearts forever," said Ricky Sisneros, Grand Knight of Clovis' Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus. "It has also come into our own community. Terror can happen anywhere and anytime."

Sisneros, speaking at a morning flag-lowering ceremony held Monday at the American Legion Post 25 in Clovis, referred to the mass shooting Aug. 28 at the city's public library that killed two and injured four.

The ceremony was also attended by city commissioners and representatives of area first responders, including Clovis Fire Department and Cannon Air Force Base personnel.

"We've gone through some tragedies, unfortunately, in our own community. ... We unfortunately lost some of our city family," said Clovis Police Chief Doug Ford, expressing gratitude for the community's support in the past two weeks.

"We will never forget, but we will overcome this crisis," said Commissioner Chris Bryant.

A free lunch hosted Monday afternoon by Steed-Todd Funeral Home was also well-attended by local first responders, said Director Carlos Rivera.

"We just wanted to recognize our first responders, especially with what's happened in our community," he said. "We wanted to show them a little bit of love."

Portales banker: 'Join with me in saving America'

At a national level, the country is in desperate need of unity now as much as ever, according to David Stone in Portales on Monday.

The president of James Polk Stone Community Bank addressed a crowd gathered in the bank's parking lot, remembering the day 3,000 people were killed by four coordinated terrorist attacks.

"This hadn't been done since December 7, 1941. We were unprepared and shocked by this well-planned attack by a force unknown to most Americans," he said.

Stone then introduced a new threat to freedom, "radical leftist protesters who are armed with bats, sticks, and protected by helmets and body armor."

He lamented national conversation about tearing down statues of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, and recalled the words of patriot Patrick Henry.

"Freedom was the rallying cry of the American revolution. When a man lectured him about his political beliefs, Patrick Henry listened very politely, and then he said, 'I don't agree with a thing you said, but I will defend with my life your right to say it.'"

Stone urged the crowd to unite in the name of freedom.

"If we don't, there will never, ever be another nation as great as the United States of America. So, join with me in saving America. Demand your freedom of speech. Demand discipline in our home and our schools and our workplace. We can do it. Thousands of movements have started small and grown to be big. Be proud to be an American."

The Portales memorial was opened by a trumpet performance of the National Anthem by Portales High School students Dominique Barrera, 16, and Nacho Perez, 15.

Barrera was only 2 months old on 9/11, but remembering the event and taking pride in American resilience made the event one worth attending.

"What's the point of being in a country that you don't care for? You should always support where you come from," she said.

Perez looked at tragedies like 9/11 as opportunities to support one another and ignore differences.

"When things like that happen, the great majority of people in this country are banded together in a way that's not like that any other time. It's a sad kind of thing, but at the same time, everyone feels the pain of something that bad."

Portales resident Robbie Dotson recalled watching the planes hit the World Trade Center in New York City.

"It was frightening, but I felt very patriotic, very close to my country," she said, adding that she attended Monday's ceremony because "if we don't remember history, we might repeat it."