Did America Forget 9-11?
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
As Joshua Adams cast a glance at those attending the 9-11 commemoration program at the St. Landry Parish Courthouse Friday morning he shared a different memory that he captured at the same location in 2001.
“Twenty-five years ago this place was packed. Now I see that there’s a lot of room,” said Adams, a former Opelousas city police officer who once spoke at a similar parish courthouse program just days after four planes piloted by terrorists caused the deaths of nearly 3,000 persons.
Adams, now a field representative for U.S. Congressman Clay Higgins, told the crowd just beyond the courthouse steps that forgetting what happened in America on 9-11 “is not an option.”
Unlike those who attended the 45-minute program orchestrated by Pat Mason-Guillory and her staff, Adams traveled to New York City shortly after the tragedy and assisted with a cleanup and rescue operation that was already underway.
“I was not fully aware of what I was a part of,” said Adams, who was the OPD designee sent to the Trade Center site by former Police Chief Larry Caillier to represent Opelousas law enforcement.
It was a scene, said Adams, that he hasn’t forgotten.
Adams participated in bucket brigades loading debris and combing through the wreckage in search of possible survivors.
From his perspective Adams said that never forgetting about what happened on 9-11 deals with how America continues to process the aftermath of the fourt incidents occurring on that day.
“We must not forget what we need to do in order to continue moving foward and not only what happened on that day,” said Adams.
Adams was one of several program speakers who provided their own 9-11 insights.
Parish president Jessie Bellard remembered empathizing with the firefighters who entered the buildings that were subjected to blazes caused by the planes.
“Nothing prepared me for what I saw. When I looked at the firefighters that were rushing into those buildings, I knew that many of them would not be coming home,” said Bellard, who was a firefighter before being elected to public office.
State District Judge Greg Doucet praised those who responded to the incident.
“The only thing they knew was somebody needed help. They carried their courage into those flames knowing that they may never come out,” Doucet said.
Vocalist and organist Vanessa Joubert Hammond accompanied by saxophonist Seibe Dayon created emotion reflected in the eyes of some in the crowd as Hammond sang, “America The Beautiful,” and “The Battle Hymn Of The Republic.”
A Med-Express emergency helicopter flew at low altitude over the event
The solemn occasion was also highlighted by the playing of taps and the courthouse bell that rang several times in remembrance of the lives lost..
