• Service members, first responders, Gold Star families, and community leaders gathered at the Rock Island Arsenal's 9/11 Memorial to remember the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, with Maj. Gen. Eric Shirley highlighting the courage and unity displayed on that day.
• Maj. Gen. Eric Shirley, who spoke at the ceremony, emphasized the extraordinary ways in which strangers helped each other to safety during the 9/11 attacks, and how the events of that day led to America becoming a nation at war with subsequent deployments to the Middle East.
• The ceremony also honored those who served in the years following 9/11, with the story of Staff Sgt. Nathan Cox, a Quad Cities native who reenlisted in the Army after 9/11 and was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2008, serving as a reminder of the sacrifices made in defense of freedom.

Service members, first responders, Gold Star families and community leaders gathered at the Rock Island Arsenal's 9/11 Memorial on Friday to remember the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

"In the Pentagon that morning, confusion quickly gave way to courage," Maj. Gen. Eric Shirley said, who spoke at the ceremony. "Survivors described being disoriented but then hearing voices call out, 'If you can hear me, come this way.' Strangers lead strangers to safety. Soldiers, civilians, first responders, volunteers came together in extraordinary ways."

The ceremony also honored those who served in the years that followed. Shirley deployed to the Middle East a few months after the attacks.

"It was clear to those of us in uniform on that day that America was now a nation at war, and deployments would soon follow," Shirley said. "In December of 2001, I found myself in Pakistan and Afghanistan laying the groundwork for future support to joint operations," Shirley said. "I had no idea at the time I would spend the next two decades and four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in the Middle East defending our freedom abroad.

Staff Sgt. Nathan Cox, a Quad Cities native, reenlisted in the Army after 9/11. He was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2008. Shirley said keeping stories like Cox's alive is especially important for generations too young to remember 9/11.