Commemoration of a tragedy

Penny Bailey remembers watching in amazement as firefighters rushed into the Pentagon trying to find survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, despite orders to fall back.

Bailey was working in the Pentagon at the time of the attack.

“Every fire department within 30 to 100 miles was there,” said Bailey, a retired Air Force officer who moved to Clovis this year with her husband, who is the senior physician at Cannon Air Force Base.

Bailey shared her story of how she survived the Sept. 11 attack Tuesday with an audience of about 60 people who came to honor first responders in Clovis and Curry County and remember the victims of the terror attack. The event was held at the Patriot Outdoors sports center in Curry County, where Bailey works.

Bailey said moments before the attack, she was helping a general plan an October conference in the Pentagon. She said they were about to go farther down the hallway when she asked to go to her office. Bailey said she wanted to check on her daughter, who stayed home sick from school.

Just as the door to her office shut, she said she felt the building shake. A Boeing 757 crashed into a section of the Pentagon where she had just shown the general around, killing about 140 people. One of the victims was former Eastern New Mexico University basketball player Ron Milam, who worked at the Pentagon.

“God, literally, saved me that day,” she said.

As she left the building looking for her husband, who was also stationed at the Pentagon, she witnessed the heroism of the firefighters and the police officers at the scene.

“We felt safe,” she said. “Even though we had just been attacked, we felt safe.”

Patriot Outdoors owner Stephen Powell said a Sept. 11 commemoration event is something he would do annually.

“We wanted to do this to ensure our community can see and be reminded of how patriotic we, as Americans, should be,” he said.

In Portales, a reflective mood fell over the crowd as members of the Cannon Air Force Base Honor Guard raised the American flag at a Sept. 11 memorial service in the Portales National Bank parking lot.

“Time reduces pain, anger and outrage,” said David Stone, president of Portales National Bank.

In his speech commemorating the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attacks, Stone spoke of remaining strong and dedicated to the United States.

“Remember to never, never forget. Remember to never forget and allow our nation to become vulnerable again,” Stone said.

Portales Fire Department chief John Bridges read a timeline of events that took place on that fateful day six years ago.

“Today we stand honoring those who lost their lives,” Bridges said.

Bridges went on to speak of those men and women who are involved in the emergency services who responded to the terrorists attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., and continue to respond every day to help others. He also reflected on members of the military that answered the call of duty to protect the nation.

“Our nation and our people will never give in. We will always remember,” Bridges said.

Having served in the military and served a tour of duty in the aftermath of the terrorists attacks, the anniversary is emotional for Roosevelt County Sheriff Darren Hooker. Hooker hoped people took time Tuesday to consider how the event changed their lives.

“I won’t say that time heals all wounds, but as time goes by it does,” Hooker said.