By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

ARCANUM — The Village of Arcanum held their fourth annual Veteran’s Purple Heart Ceremony on September 11. The ceremony started with a golf cart parade through the village and ended at the Arcanum VFW building. The Purple Heart Ceremony then took place outside for all to attend.

Arcanum is the only village around the area that has the title of a Purple Heart village and holds this type of ceremony.

“It’s an honor for me, as your mayor, to say that we are the only village, city, municipality etc. in Darke County that proudly holds this distinction of being bestowed the official title of a Purple Heart village,” Arcanum Village mayor Bonnie Millard said.

The ceremony was more than inducting new Purple Heart recipients. It was a time for everyone to honor veterans and remember the lives lost on 9/11.

“We’re coming together to not only honor our Purple Heart recipients, but also to pay tribute to all those who lost their lives tragically on 9/11 during the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil ever. Along with all of our veterans, who have fought to give us our freedom and liberties we share today,” Millard said.

After the posting of colors and the Arcanum High School band preforming the National Anthem and “God Bless the USA”, guest speaker Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Letteer spoke about his 9/11 experience.

Letteer served 23 years in the Marines and just retired last February. He first joined the reserves and lived with his dad and stepmother in Maryland. While fulfilling his reserves duty, he was working for a family-owned pool company.

Letteer said he heard about the first tower being attacked when his boss interrupted a meeting to tell them about the attack. At the time, his dad was in Texas on business trip and his stepmother had a meeting at the Pentagon as both worked for the government.

After the first attack, Letteer’s dad called him on the phone. They were on the phone together when the second tower was hit. Letteer said after that attack, he and his dad were in agreement that Letteer should head to the Pentagon to check on his stepmother.

“Driving from Upper Marlboro, Maryland I was about 45 minutes away, but road speeds were ignored that day. As I approached the Pentagon, I continued to try to call my stepmother and other family members but later discovered that the tower went down because they couldn’t handle the overuse of cell phones during the attack. There were too many people trying to call that day. The towers couldn’t handle it,” Letteer said.

He was on his way to the Pentagon when it was attacked. When Letteer was within sight of the Pentagon, he saw the aftermath of the attack.

“Soon after the explosion, I found myself within eye shot of the Pentagon. As the smoke and the fire bellowed from the structure, I shouted no. As I approached, the road suddenly became a parking lot. I stopped the car on the side of the highway, locked the doors and ran towards the Pentagon,” Letteer said.

As Letteer got closer, there police trying to lock down the perimeter amongst the people trying to leave or go in to find their loved ones. All he could hear were sirens, people screaming and some people crying.

Letteer said he kept shouting his stepmother’s name, Carol, to not only hope she hears, but to also keep him moving forward. Eventually, he was called on to help assist the people and direct the traffic jam that occurred.

“I was quickly grabbed by a cop that asked me to help move traffic. He pointed to me and said, ‘Military?’ As he pointed to me I said yes. My fresh high and tight haircut gave me away. For the next hour, I directed traffic and helped load people into ambulances hoping to find my stepmother among them,” Letteer said.

During this time, Letteer kept asking around if anyone has seen his stepmother. He quickly realized that with how big the Pentagon is, a lot of people didn’t know each other.

He had entered the Pentagon five times to look for her and was directed out each time. Soon, more police and uniformed military arrived to help. Letteer then saw that the Air Force side of the building, the side his stepmother was at, wasn’t hit. After realizing all of this, he got the strong impression he had to leave.

Letteer raced home and found out his stepmother had arrived just before him in a taxi. He said when the alarms went off, she assumed it was a fire alarm and left when everyone was evacuated. She learned about the attacks on her way back home in the taxi.

Soon after the attacks, Letteer went to serve in Iraq in 2003 and started his active duty military career. He learned a lot of valuable lessons during his time on duty.

Letteer said during the 9/11 attacks and during his time in Iraq, he has seen communities come together and come out strong on the other side of conflict.

He said to help continue honoring veterans and those who sacrificed their lives on 9/11, we all can continue to come together as one community.

Letteer said real courage comes from understanding real risk and choosing to act in-spite of our fears. Everyone can do their part by staying strong as a community as those who choose to join the military continue to answer the bell when needed.

“In every war and every conflict throughout time was fought by men and women that regardless of their righteousness of the cause, were afraid. But they answered the call anyways when the drums of war sounded. They stood and said, ‘I will go.’,” Letteer said.

After Letteer spoke, there were multiple tributes to America and tributes to past Purple Heart recipients. Then, three new members were inducted with surviving family members accepting their awards on their behalf.

The three new recipients were Wallace Sanders, Carl Besecker and Harley E. Alexander. Alexander was recently laid to rest in Greenmound Cemetery in New Madison after being missing in action since June 8, 1944. His story was shared during this ceremony.

The ceremony was not only a time to give thanks for all of those who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms, but also a chance to for some to learn more about that day and how it has impacted our everyday lives.