FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, KIRKUK, Iraq- "I remember exactly where I was on 9/11 when I found out the twin towers had been hit," one Soldier said to another. The Soldier nodded in reply, and his eyes lost focus for a moment as he reflected back to where he had been on that historic day.
Scenes like this played out over and over again during a memorial march on Forward Operating Base Warrior, Kirkuk Iraq, Sept. 11 as Soldiers took the opportunity to look back eight years and think about the tragic event that shaped many of their lives.
"A lot of you are probably where you are today because of the events that happened on 9-11," said Chaplain Jon Bailey, a Hickory, N.C., native and the chaplain for 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, to the crowd of Soldiers that gathered before the march.
For at least one Soldier in the crowd, this statement couldn't have been truer.
"I joined the Army because of 9/11," said Spc. Larita Fullwood, a chaplain's assistant for 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT.
"When it happened, I really wanted to give back to my community, to my area," she said.
Fullwood said she had been following the event closely on the news, and one event in particular stuck out to her.
"As the story continued on the news, I heard about a daycare inside of the towers and that there were children who had died there because of this attack," she said. "It really touched my heart."
A few years later, Fullwood went to the site of the attack to see it for herself.
"I went to New York to visit ground zero," said Fullwood.
There was still this feeling hanging in the air there, she said. "It still felt like day one. It was a really patriotic moment."
This gave Fullwood, who was responsible for planning this march, a special insight.
"There were a lot of people in our unit who were affected by 9/11," she said. "It is really important for us to take time and reflect on these things."
"Eight years ago, the twin towers were still there and the world was a different place," said Lt. Col. Edward Repetski, the commander of 2nd STB, to the Soldiers at the march.
"A lot of you came in the military after that. You've only known the military as post 9/11," he said.
"Your efforts in the last eight years have prevented any fights taking place in our home," he said. "I couldn't be prouder of you."
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