New 9/11 memorial dedicated at Colorado National Guard Headquarters
Twenty-five years ago, the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks fundamentally changed our world. As Colorado remembers that day, a new 9/11 memorial was unveiled at the headquarters of the Colorado Army and Air National Guard.
U.S. Army retired Chaplain Col. Andy Meverden was supposed to visit the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. He learned of the World Trade Center attacks while in the National Guard Bureau.
"The alarm for evacuation sounded, and we went outside," said Meverden. "But when we got down, there was an explosion."
A mile away, the Pentagon had been attacked. Meverden recalled the scene and what they experienced.
"Within 30 seconds, a cloud of dust and ash and building materials landed around us," Meverden said.
The chaplain went to help in the aftermath.
"I served as the chaplain for four hours, helping with the evacuation of the walking wounded and injured," Meverden said.
See Jia Ho, the architect behind the new memorial, was a child in Singapore when the attacks happened.
"The footage of 9/11 was broadcast on the TV stations, and I remember being profoundly impacted by it," said Ho. "It affected the whole world. It was etched in the memory of everyone who was living on the planet at the time."
She went on to live in Manhattan and work just blocks from Ground Zero. Now, she's the architect behind the new 9/11 memorial at the Colorado National Guard headquarters.
"It was a personal, deep, deeply meaningful project for me," said Ho.
The project divided a steel beam from the World Trade Center and installed it at opposing angles.
"We do see many historical photos with beams and other objects that were standing up at an angle from Ground Zero," said Ho.
The memorial honors the lives lost on 9/11, and the five Colorado National Guardsmen who died in the operations that followed. This includes the first National Guardsman, and first service member from Colorado, to die in the war on terror, Sgt. 1st Class Daniel A. Romero.
"I had the sad duty of doing the casualty notification to all five of those families times two," Meverden said.
"On that plaque behind me is one of my dear friends who was killed in the war on terror, David R. Carter," said U.S. Army Chaplain Col. David Nagel.
Nagel is the current state chaplain for the Colorado National Guard.
"9/11 inspired me to leave the church I was pastoring. It got me on the road to becoming a military chaplain," said Nagel. "I'm thankful for our nation that we continue to remember, and we don't forget the sacrifice of those whose lives were lost."
Those behind the memorial hope it will be a reminder for Colorado's National Guardsmen of why they serve.
"To remember the lives that were lost that day and the sacrifices of those who had gone on before and after the event," said Ho.
"When I come to work in the morning, when it's dark, I see just quiet groups of airmen and soldiers just looking quietly at the memorial. It's lit up at night, and I think that it just kind of takes their breath away to think about why we're here," said Nagel. "History is so important to remember. It teaches us things. It helps us teach the next generation what sacrifice looks like."
"We need to remember that it's a dangerous world, and not everybody likes us. We have enemies that wish to do us harm, and will go to any length to inflict damage and pain on our society. They're envious. They're jealous. They think we're apostates, and they don't appreciate the freedom that we have as a nation," Meverden said.
The memorial is at the Joint Force Headquarters in Centennial. A military ID is required to go on base.
It's one of five memorials like this in our state. They all use steel salvaged from the World Trade Center, donated by the Mizel Foundation and coordinated by the Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab.
