Powerful symbols and poignant stories merged memories of past loss with reminders of present resolve as a community gathered Thursday to remember the high cost of freedom.
Firefighters, police and other first responders joined military service members and veterans and a large group of students and educators at Harker Heights High School on a day the calendar calls Patriot Day and that Americans know as 9/11.
The 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States marked the 19th annual Killeen ISD Freedom Walk.
Participants began inside the school auditorium, where Harker Heights High School Junior ROTC cadets, choir and dance team members performed. Student cadets also served as the event MC and introduced speaker retired Col. Keith Sledd representing the Heart of Texas Defense Alliance.
A KISD-produced video presentation combined news footage from 2001 with current testimony from three KISD employees who served in combat in the aftermath of the attacks.
On September 11, 2001, KISD Deputy Superintendent Scott Hequembourg was a platoon leader in Fort Riley, Kansas. Brookhaven Elementary Principal Becky Whitelow was a supply specialist at Camp Walker in South Korea. Chef Dominique Jackson was a fifth-grade student, who would enlist 10 years later.
All three served as part of America’s massive military response to the terrorist attacks aimed at the nation’s base of political and financial power.
Following the assembly in the auditorium, participants walked as a group to the adjacent school stadium between two rows of parked emergency vehicles and beneath firefighter ladder truck apparatus and completed a lap around the track as a show of unity.
Gold Star Families joined police, firefighter and military representatives in a place of honor as 11 bell tolls rang out in memory of the fallen and the solemn strains of Taps sounded across the field.
Harker Heights senior Ryan Boldon, battalion commander for the school’s Junior ROTC unit, said she was honored to guide such an important event.
“For us, it was renewed inspiration. People our age weren’t alive at that time. For us to be a part of this was very important for us to remember what happened.
“As soon as I saw everyone listening and learning with their hearts on their sleeves it definitely made me feel something. It was amazing.”
“It was very important,” said Mark Arrington, a senior cadet and company leader. “We want to make sure our cadets know what they are upholding. It was the first time the walk was hosted here so for us it was very pleasing.
“It was amazing. I didn’t get to hear the speeches beforehand. To sit and listen, it kept me drawn in. The presentation was very informative. Being able to learn what people experienced that day was very touching.”
KISD Interim Superintendent King Davis welcomed the large community presence at the event and urged attendees to not just look back, but to consider the lessons of that day.
“Remembrance is not only about looking back,” he said. “It’s about what we choose to carry forward. Lessons from that day include courage, compassion and unity, taking care of one another and respecting our differences.”
Sledd, the main speaker, spoke of the emergency personnel who selflessly reported to duty that day, unaware they would be charging into danger and that by the end of the day, 323 firefighters and 71 law enforcement officers would lay down their lives for people they never met.
“All of these sacrifices are a reminder that freedom is never free.”
KISD 2025 Freedom Walk photo gallery:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720328985719/