IVH event marks 25 years since Sept. 11 attacks
Nearly 100 Iowans killed in War on Terror
Trending
"Iowa Forgets Not the Defenders of the Union" was the founding creed of the Iowa Veterans Home of Marshalltown in 1887.
On Friday, IVH staff endeavored to remind attendees and residents to "Never Forget" the devastating terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 during a program held Friday afternoon in the Malloy Leisure Resource Center.
Words have power, and "Never Forget" should resonate and not be reduced to a slogan – as the coordinated suicidal attacks by 19 radical Islamic terrorists from Middle Eastern countries used four hijacked airliners to kill 2,977 Americans, destroying the two World Trade Center towers in New York City and severely damaging the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Included in the 2,977 were 343 New York firemen who were killed in the two Trade Center towers attempting to rescue workers trapped inside or on the ground when the towers collapsed.
Another major tragedy in a day full of them was averted when passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 mounted a counter-attack on the terrorists who were believed to be destined to crash the plane in the U.S. Capitol. The passengers battled the terrorists in the plane causing it to crash-land near Shanksville, Penn., resulting in the deaths of all on board.
Twenty-five years later, the residual effects of the attack have increased the casualty list as many firemen and others died from or have suffered severe respiratory health conditions searching for comrades or survivors in the rubble. They had been exposed to fatal or debilitating airborne chemicals in the aftermath.
Untold but equally disturbing are those civilians and firemen who still suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Eight individuals with direct ties to Iowa were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, according to social media sources.
The keynote speaker at Friday's event, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Ron Dardis of Des Moines, served 43 years in the Iowa Air National Guard, including deployments to the Middle East.
"Iowans have answered the call in strong numbers to serve in the War on Terror," he said.
He also said distinctively that Iowa air and army national guard troops have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Two Marshalltown men are among the nearly 100 servicemen with Iowa ties who have been killed in the War on Terror - which includes Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and subsequent counter-terrorism and regional operations.
SSgt. William Nathaniel "Nate" Howard - a life-ong local resident – was killed in Syria last December during a terrorist attack. Howard was a member of the Iowa National Guard. A portion of U.S. Highway 30 near Marshalltown was named in his honor among other accolades.
Maj. Scott Nisely, a Nebraska native but longtime Marshalltown resident and a local mail carrier with 12 years of service, was killed in action in September of 2006 during the Iraq War. Nisely was also a member of the Iowa National Guard. His son Justin Nisely enlisted in the U.S. Army after his father's death.
The Scott Nisely U.S. Post Office in Marshalltown reminds residents daily of his sacrifice. Dardis said in his compelling remarks that Iowans have honored their dead from the "War on Terror" in exemplary fashion.
He also specifically cited residents of Marshalltown and Red Oak, among others, who turned out in the hundreds to honor the fallen.
Attendee and IVH resident Melanie Wheson-Powell said Dardis' remarks resonated with her because her husband served during Desert Storm aboard the U.S.S. Missouri. The ship came under fire from enemy forces.
"I thought the program was interesting," said Fern Bradley, an event attendee and IVH resident who said she spent most of her adult life in Fort Dodge. "There are so many places we need to know about ... we must be prepared and support the troops."
Bradley and Wheson-Powell are volunteer chaplains at IVH. Dardis served as adjutant general of the Iowa Guard for 10 years from 1999 until his retirement in 2009. In that capacity, he commanded 104 Army and Air National Guard units and more than 9,600 members of the Army and Air National Guard in Iowa. He was serving in that capacity on Sept. 11, 2001.
Dardis earned command pilot honors with approximately 4,000 flying hours in the F-100 Super Sabre, A-7 Corsair II and F-16 Fighting Falcon. Following his military service, Dardis led recovery efforts after the flood of 2008 as executive director of the Rebuild Iowa Office.
Dardis resides in Des Moines with his wife Carmel. Prior to Dardis' remarks, members of the U.S. 34th Army Band played a medley of patriotic songs and military branch service anthems.
The band - comprised of five music educators and one engineer - received spontaneous and hearty applause after each arrangement.