Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith remembers where he was when he learned about the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
During the Patriot Day ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial at Central Park, 117 E. Canal St., Warsaw, Wednesday, Smith said the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks did have an impact on him.
“A few words come to my mind as I relive this and try to speak about it and some of those words include sadness, fear, anxiousness,” he said.
In remembering that day, Smith said he was a 20-year-old with a vending machine route with Bertsch Services. He stopped at a business in Columbia City where was told about the attacks on the Twin Towers by a woman who worked at the business he had become friends with. He remembers seeing the fear and deep concern in her eyes. Smith remembered saying it was a terror attack.
As he went on with his day, the attacks were the only thing being talked about on the television and radio, “rightfully so.”

    Kosciusko County Sheriff Jim Smith, a U.S. Army veteran, speaks Wednesday about the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 affected him. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

As a little time went on, Smith felt a movement in not only the community, but also the rest of the nation. The best words he could come up with to articulate it were unity, faith and pride.
“We were watching people, for once, put aside their differences for the betterment of the country as a whole and stand by each other as the country began putting the pieces of the catastrophe back together,” Smith said.
“I knew that in some way this was going to have a direct impact on my life as I was an enlisted officer in the Army Reserves,” Smith said. He was a truck driver in the Army and he was certain it meant he was going to be deployed at some point.
In 2003, Smith was deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. He said to say he grew up in a hurry was an understatement. It didn’t take him long to realize he was in country “where they had been fighting for years and you best pay attention because they wouldn’t have thought twice about taking my life if given the chance,” he said.
Before deployment, Smith’s son had just been born.
“I got to meet him and see him for just a few hours before flying seas,” he said, noting he was motivated to see his son again. He knew his time overseas wasn’t forever and he was serving the best country there was.
Smith said he hated the reason the U.S. was in Afghanistan, but the overwhelming support of the people in America made a difference in his motivation for his mission.
He often finds himself reflecting on the time the nation came together for a bigger purpose instead of the smaller things that drive people apart.
Kosciusko County 9/11 Memorial Remembrance Committee member Mike Cox gave the opening welcoming remarks, followed by the posting of the colors.
Cox said 343 New York firefighters died during the Sept. 11 attacks. Since then, 343 additional firefighters have died due to effects from the attacks. Overall, more people have died from the effects of the attacks then died during the attacks.

    Linda and James Stroup, of Pierceton, put their hands over their heart during the Pledge of Allegiance Wednesday at the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Central Park. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

Cox said the date Sept. 11 was chosen due to the significance of the 911 emergency system in the U.S. The chief goal was to instill an ongoing fear in the United States citizenry since the U.S. hadn’t been attacked on its land since the attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.
The U.S. did take actions to secure the nation, he said. Leaders of al-Qaeda were killed or captured, some of who are still waiting trial at Guantánamo Bay.
Cox said it is up to each of us to be vigilant for signs of terrorist attacks and we should never forget the Sept. 11 attacks.
Johnny Butler, committee member, talked briefly about the Honor & Sacrifice and Honor & Remember flags and their significance.
On Memorial Day 2008, the Honor & Remember flag was first flown as a perpetual symbol of remembrance of those who paid the ultimate price in the military for freedom. Indiana recognized the flag in 2013, but there was no language in that bill to fly the flag. Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb corrected that in 2020, Butler said.
The Honor & Sacrifice flag was first presented in 2016 to honor firefighters, law enforcement and other first responders.
Committee member Ken Locke led a prayer before the ringing of the bell by JW Anderson, Winona Lake Fire Department, to end the ceremony.
Bryce Lippe and Ed Rock performed patriotic songs, while a local Boy Scout troop led the Pledge of Allegiance during the ceremony.

    JW Anderson, Winona Lake Fire Department, rings the bell at the end of Wednesday’s 9/11 ceremony. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union