The state of Iowa plans to remember the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks Sunday morning near the Statue of Liberty replica at the corner of East Grand Avenue and East 12th street near the state capitol.
Nearly 3,000 American flags have been set up along that northeast corner of the capitol grounds to honor those who were killed on 9/11. U.S. Air Force Sergeant Christopher Wood was one of the volunteers who mapped out the 120 by 100 foot site.
“I’ll tell you once we got the perimeter laid out and we started putting these in and then you realize just how many flags we’re putting in the ground and what they represent it’s just, it is a somber moment,” Wood said. He says it took three hours to set up the flags.
“We’re hoping that a lot of people see it and you know that anyone’s ever forgotten 9/11 certainly but just bring everybody back to that realization that ten years ago we were attacked and since then our world changed, it really did,” Wood said. Wood was serving at Fort Hood on 9/11 and was promoted that day. He’s since been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Sunday’s ceremony at the statehouse will include speeches by the Governor, Homeland Security officials, and the FBI. One KC-135 aircraft from 185th Air Refueling Wing of the Iowa Air National Guard in Sioux City will fly over at 8:30 A.M. as part of the observance. The ceremony begins at 7:30 A.M.