Lest We Forget; San Angelo’s 9/11 Memorial to be Rededicated Friday Morning

SAN ANGELO, TX -- I remember that horrible, tragic morning 16 years ago. 9/11. I was the news director for San Angelo radio station KGKL and its five sister stations.

I’d just finished four local Tuesday morning newscasts as usual and I was planning on attending the Tom Green County Commissioner’s court meeting that morning, the San Angelo City Council meeting at 1:30 p.m. that afternoon, and the San Angelo ISD board meeting that night.  

The tiny black and white TV we had in the corner of the newsroom was on the CBS.  I remember the coverage switched from local news to the national CBS feed at 8:00 a.m.  I was watching as the news anchors were casually reporting that an airplane, perhaps a small private plane, had hit one of the World Trade Center towers in New York City.  It seemed like we all realized we were under attack in the same heartbeat.  

The video of that smoldering hole in the first tower didn’t seem like a big deal, but we were all watching live when the second plane flew into the second tower.  Time stopped.  I remember thinking, Oh My God! We are under attack from somebody!

The remainder of that week and month are a blur.  I cringed at the plane flying into the Pentagon and the airliner crashing into a Pennsylvania field.  

I remember the numbness.  I remember hearing for the first time the name Osama Bin Laden, and I remember crying when the towers fell later that morning.  

I wasn’t there in New York City, but Rosey Velez was.  And now he is here in San Angelo and he is going to rededicate the 9/11 memorial at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts Friday morning at 10 a.m.

Velez  is a 9/11 first responder.  He was there in New York City on that fateful day.  

San Angelo was fortunate that Catholic Bishop Michael Pfeifer was able to secure a steel fragment from the twin towers and that piece of steel was the centerpiece of San Angelo’s 9/11 memorial for many years. That piece of steel was stolen from the monument in June 2016.   

The San Angelo 9/11 memorial will be rededicated Friday morning at 10:00 a.m. at the memorial site near the Museum of Fine Arts and the River Stage.  Lest we forget.