For the 20th year Killeen ISD will host a gathering of neighbors to remember the tragic and unifying attacks of September 11, 2001.
The annual community Freedom Walk begins at 9:30 a.m. Friday, September 11 at Harker Heights High School.
The event begins in the school auditorium and continues with a walk around the stadium track adjacent to the building.
This year’s walk marks the 20th KISD-hosted freedom walk and the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks known as 9-11.
As the host school, the Harker Heights High School Junior ROTC color guard, as well as the band, choir and dance team will participate in the remembrance.
Representatives from Fort Hood and police and fire departments in area cities will participate. Special guests include Gold Star and Fallen Hero Families.
This year, more than ever before, the freedom celebration and remembrance focus on the young – the next generation of leaders.
The main speaker is Harker Heights High School senior Jaylynn Bennett.
Another youth-centered feature this year is a middle school essay contest, part of a week-long social studies unit KISD is using to give students perspective on the complexities of the 9-11 attacks and its aftermath.
Bringing in the young is an intentional strategy, said KISD Executive Director of Community Relations Director Angenet Wilkerson.
“What is important to me is the student voice,” she said. “As adults, we hear each other all the time. We have to take time to hear a new generation.”
The high school speaker is expected to talk about the power of unity, a reality that was overwhelming across the USA following the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
“That day brought the nation together,” said Wilkerson. “The ash made everyone the same color. Unity happens when we have something in common. We were all in shock.”
Back in the fall of 2001, Killeen ISD students, staff and family members responded almost instantly to the tragic images of destruction. Campuses hosted rallies with red, white and blue balloons, displaying posters of support and encouragement for the country.
When KISD began hosting a freedom walk for the whole community in 2006, patriotic events on individual campuses were already a tradition that continue to this day.
That first local freedom walk, now 20 years past, took place at Leo Buckley Stadium.
One of the speakers was retired Maj. Gen. Stewart Meyer. He told the crowd that terrorists hate Americans’ freedom and reminded the audience that freedom bears a high price.
He also urged residents to continue to support the nation and to participate in democracy.
In 2006, Diane Cho was a senior at Ellison High School and the commander for the school’s Junior ROTC. She said at that time that she remembered when 9-11 occurred when she was in seventh grade.
“We wanted to remind students that 9/11 was not an event,” Cho said 20 years ago. “We wanted to make sure we know this is history in the making.”
This year on September 11, KISD students and school leaders will once again remember that day in history honoring the heroes and the fallen of that day while supporting the heroes of today and tomorrow.
Photos of past KISD freedom walks and campus events www.killeenisd.org/photos