Terrorists crashed airliners into the World Trade Center and Pentagon, killing thousands of Americans Tuesday.
“Freedom itself was attacked this morning,” President Bush said, “and I assure you freedom will be defended.”
Delawareans felt the shock wave.
Schools and businesses closed early.
Dover Air Force Base, a symbol of freedom in Delaware, became a focal point.
Elsewhere Downstate, residents moved to heal with their hearts and hands.
DOVER — The front page demanded a huge headline on Sept. 12, 2001.
We decided on “Freedom will be defended” in bold, 90-point type.
And, under it, we added the italicized words reprinted at the start of this column in a style we call “chatter.”
They were written on deadline in the final hour of 9/11.
Today, scanning that front page brings back a flood of memories.
The emotions on 9/11 went from shock and horror to sadness and fear.
Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner sent children home from school at 11 a.m. and closed state offices. She said, “This is a time when families should be together.”
And, then as the day wore on, there was an evident resolve and a sense of duty throughout Delaware.
Local first responders lined up to head north to New York City.
People drove to blood banks and rolled up their sleeves. American flags started appearing on countless front porches.
Dover Air Force Base grounded planes and tightened security. There was an odd silence once the C-5 cargo planes were idled. Meanwhile, the base mortuary team started to prepare behind the scenes.
The local response, said then-publisher Tammy Brittingham, needed to be on our front page — right beside the news of what the terrorists had done.
For days following 9/11, we had story after story about most every news development. And we made a commitment to find heartwarming and inspiring stories, too. (During the pandemic, we talked about those much-needed positive stories as we committed to print our Wednesday “Good Morning” feature.)
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We will have several stories on the 20th anniversary of 9/11 in the coming week.
Your Sunday newspaper will feature a commemorative section with archive photos, multiple stories with Delawareans’ memories, lasting impacts, tributes to first responders and more.
And, we will be assembling special content at BaytoBayNews.com, including some of the original stories – the first draft of history – from 2001.
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For this editor, memories associated with 9/11 start in the spring of 2001.
Then-senior reporter Tom Eldred and I were given an extensive tour of Dover Air Force Base. The last stop was the base mortuary.
Michael Tocchetti, the chief of mortuary affairs at the time, shared the mission of his team and the reverence and discipline that goes into their work.
It was just weeks after the mortuary at Travis Air Force Base in California was closed, making Dover the country’s only port mortuary. There were scores of gurneys that had been transferred to Dover.
We went from room to room as he showed us the process. In one stop, we viewed the uniform shop where uniforms are tailored and assembled to match the service member’s records. Every branch of the military’s uniforms, patches and ribbons that might possibly be needed was there.
Since it opened in 1955, the mortuary has processed the remains of more than 60,000 individuals.
Its busiest years were during the Vietnam War when more than 21,000 fallen service members were brought home.
We talked about the mortuary’s history and how they handle mass casualties.
In October 2000, the mortuary had received the remains of 17 U.S. sailors who were killed by a terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.
Naturally, Mr. Eldred made calling Mr. Tocchetti a priority on 9/11 since there was a likelihood that Dover, as home of the nation’s only port mortuary, would be needed in a big way again.
Mr. Tocchetti said he was given instructions to contact mortuary team members. He had been in Alexandria, Virginia, that morning for a meeting.
“I left right away to come back to Dover thinking I could beat the traffic,” Mr. Tocchetti said at the time. “I was on I-495 on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge at the Virginia-Maryland line. I could see the black smoke coming from the Pentagon.
“It was unbelievable,” he said. “Ambulances were coming down 495. There were cops, fire trucks and emergency vehicles, all heading south.”
The next day, the Department of Defense announced that the remains of the victims at the Pentagon — including the passengers of the hijacked plane and its hijackers — would be brought to Dover for identification and processing.
For days, we watched the skies over Dover as hulking Chinook helicopters, with the distinct thunder of the twin rotors, went back and forth from the Pentagon.
In all, there were 188 casualties in the attack on the Pentagon.
Col. Scott E. Wuesthoff, commander of the 436th Airlift Wing at the base at the time, called the work at the mortuary one of the defining moments in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
“We blossomed from a Department of Defense mortuary staff of seven to in excess of 500 people,” he said.
The current Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs, the official name of the facility at Dover Air Force Base, was officially opened in 2003. The $30 million facility was already in the works prior to 9/11.
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Last weekend’s dignified transfer of 13 American troops killed in Kabul seemed to put bookends on the “War on Terror.” Here, the dignified transfers always seemed to be the most impactful reminders of what was happening in Afghanistan.
Last weekend, media coverage of the 13 American troops killed near the Kabul airport was limited to the White House press corps travel pool. Media attendance has been suspended during the pandemic.
Until 2009, the media was not allowed to cover dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base. So, perhaps that is one of the reasons why images of the Chinook helicopters have become so iconic in relation to Dover and 9/11.
President George H.W. Bush enacted the ban during the Gulf War in 1991 with the stated intent of protecting families’ privacy.
The Obama administration changed the policy so that families of the fallen could decide.
Christin Michaud, chief of public affairs for Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, said Thursday that more than 1,150 families have elected to have media coverage since 2009. The number represents just over half of all dignified transfers.
The first allowed was on April 5, 2009. About 30 members of the media photographed the flag-draped transfer case of Staff Sgt. Phillip A. Myers, of Hopewell, Va., as it was lowered from the aircraft and transported to a mortuary transfer vehicle. Sgt. Meyers was killed in Afghanistan.
Photos of all the approved dignified transfers for media can be found on the Air Force Mortuary Affairs website.
In 2009, Air Force chief of staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz attended a dignified transfer and thought there was a need for a comforting place for families coming to the base. That led to the creation of the Center for the Families of the Fallen.
And, not long after, the Fisher Foundation funded the Fisher House, which has nine suites for visiting families to use.
Mortuary personnel remind the media not to use the word “ceremony” in association with the arrival of fallen troops. The media is given instruction to not violate the privacy of the families in attendance.
“This is a very private time for families,” said Ms. Michaud. “It’s a very difficult time.
“The dignified transfer is not a ceremony. It’s their return to U.S. soil. They return here in preparation for going home to their final resting place, where the ceremony or memorial service would be.”
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If you have a memory or story you would like to share related to 9/11, we would welcome your email. Send comments to awest@iniusa.org.
