Mississippi College Remembers 2001 Terrorist Attacks
Moments after playing “Taps” on her trumpet at Mississippi College’s 9/11 anniversary ceremonies, Brooke Visoski reflected back on that horrific day 13 years ago.
An Army ROTC First Sgt. this fall at MC, Visoski was a second grader in Florida when terrorist attacks claimed nearly 3,000 lives on American soil. Hijacked airliners slammed into the World Trade Center in New York City, struck the Pentagon and crashed in fields near rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
“I knew exactly where I was. My dad was working as a private pilot in New York,” said Brooke, a 20-year-old from Palm Beach, Florida. While her father escaped danger on 9/11, it was a scary time for her family and millions of others nationwide. “I had to grow up.”
A mathematics major at Mississippi College, Brooke signed up for ROTC training because she wanted to emulate the values that the Army teaches. “I have family here.”
Scores of MC students, faculty and staff joined the 9/11 Never Forget Project ceremonies on the Clinton campus Thursday morning. The Christian university’s big bell sounded 11 times and prayers were lifted up. Beginning at 7 a.m., students planted 3,000 miniature U.S. flags, all in remembrance of what happened on September 11, 2001.
Amid the 9/11 crisis and the continuing worldwide threats posed by terrorists, Vice President for Christian Development Eric Pratt instructed the Mississippi College family to look to the Bible’s Psalm 46 that says “God is our refuge and strength…”
Reginald Brownlee, 38, commander of MC’s Army ROTC program, joined President Lee Royce and other school leaders on hand for the ceremonies. At the time of the attacks that saw two hijacked airliners crash into the World Trade Center towers in New York, Brownlee was 1,000 miles away. He was serving as a cadet at Alcorn State University’s Army ROTC program.
Two years later, in 2003, Brownlee was deployed to Army duty with Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As officials in New York City recited the names of the nearly 3,000 victims of the terrorists 13 years ago, Brownlee says the world is no longer a safe place. Today, the jihadist group that calls itself the Islamic State or ISIL “is a global threat,” he said.
On Wednesday evening, President Obama said in a nationally televised address he’s ready to expand airstrikes into Syria as part of a campaign to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the militant group. His strategy includes the deployment of 475 additional U.S. military personnel to assist the Iraq military to bring the number of American advisors to 1,600 in the region.
Mississippi College’s 9/11 ceremonies were sponsored by the MC student chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom.
Mississippi College senior Colin Keith, 21, the group’s treasurer, said he’s hopeful that Thursday’s ceremonies will send a clear message. It’s that “we should never forget what happened, and all come together.”
An MC marketing major, Keith was a 7-year-old in a second grade reading class in Illinois when he heard about the tragedy in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. “Our teacher turned on the radio after the first tower was hit.”
MC Young Americans for Freedom Chairman Stephen Pitts, 25, of Brandon, the event’s chief organizer, deemed it a success.
“I’m so excited about how many people showed up,” said the Mississippi Army National Guard member as Jackson media crews departed to cover their next assignment. “This is a really important day.”
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