ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. — 9/11 is a day instilled in the pages of history, and at the Rock Island Arsenal, volunteers and veterans join together every year to pay respect to the fallen.
The annual ceremony was held Wednesday, where Garrison Commander Colonel William J. Parker III spoke about the importance of that tragic morning on history. There were around 100 people in attendance.
"It's almost impossible for me to replicate or articulate exactly what that pit in your stomach feels like when you see a plane hit a building," Parker said.
"For us to still be celebrating it with the type of numbers and the number of folks that showed up today 23 years later really shows not just how much it resonates with folks, but there's still there's still that hope, that want, that desire for a sense of national unity and national pride," Parker said.
But the community giving back on such an impactful day didn't stop with the ceremony, as around 20 volunteers cleaned headstones around the arsenal cemetery with brushes and buckets of water.
Stephanie Larson of Eldridge, was one these volunteers.
"It's somber a little bit, but it also reminds you it centers on what you need to be thankful for," Larson said.
Dan Estes also helped with the cleanup and remembers his grandfather's experiences in the Korean War.
"When he went into the military he was different person that when he came out. And so I'm passionate about serving and giving back to organizations like this," Estes said.
And on such an important day, everyone has a story, according to Davenport resident and volunteer CJ Holmes.
"I was fairly young, but I definitely remember it," Holmes said. "I remember being in the classroom and watching it on the TV. And I was too young to really know exactly what it was. But even at that age I realized it was, it was a very bad thing that just happened."
Holmes said it is important to continue teaching a younger generation the importance of 9/11.
"It's so important to just remember it and as time passes I feel like it just gets harder and harder every year," Holmes said. "And it's our job to not only remember but to also educate those who came after me and who were too young to even remember."
As the younger generations read the history books on what happened, those who remember will tell the story of how everyone came together, according to Parker.
"It shows the best of society, it shows the best of what we've become out of a terrible situation," Parker said. "And it really kind of speaks to the hope of what we hope we can do as a people, as a nation."
2024 was the first year for the community headstone cleanup. The arsenal also has a 9/11 memorial, which consisted of a brick replica of the World Trade Center twin towers.