10 years later - Team Edwards remembers those who lost lives, loved ones on 9/11 Published Sept. 14, 2011 By Diane Betzler Staff writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In a solemn moment last Sunday, Team Edwards gathered at Air Force Flight Test Center headquarters to pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 people killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks 10 years before. "Taps" sounded from a lone bugler at 8:46 a.m. - the precise moment the first hijacked plane struck World Trade Center Tower 2 - and slowly the American flag came to rest at half staff. "This is not just any anniversary, but the anniversary that marks a decade that changed the world as we knew it, forever," said Col. Gregory Schwab, 95th Air Base Wing commander. Airmen, Marines and Fire Fighters stood in solemn formations among the assembled, each observing a moment of silence in morning those killed during the attacks, and in service in fighting the War on Terror. Schwab spoke of how the American military and the nation's intelligence community rapidly mobilized in response to the attacks, and how first responders gave their lives in hopes of bringing those trapped in flames and rubble out alive. "Our response, a decade ago, was a very American response to the attacks," Schwab said. "Our first responders braved the infernos of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon while passengers onboard United Flight 93 over Pennsylvania, all selflessly gave their lives to save others." The gathering brought out emotions from many who said they remember the event as if it happened only yesterday. "When I think about our brothers who went into the burning tower in an effort to save as many people as they could, I realize from the moment they stepped into the building, they had only 20 minutes or so left to live," said Glenn Savell, Edwards Fire Department Division 5 chief. Firefighter Jeff Malone from Engine 20 said the ceremony brought back a lot of feelings on what happened that day. "The [terrorist] event itself was surreal," said Malone, who was in the Air Force and on duty at the 911 Call Center at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. "I had to deal with the large volume of calls that came in that day," he said. Capt. John Cox, also with Engine 20, said he was proud to be a part of the solidarity displayed at the 911 observance. Schwab told those attending whatever their memories are of that fateful morning in 2001, they should all take heart that the spirit of those firefighters, medics, police officers, military members, their families and passengers on United Flight 93, lives on in them all today. "In the words of the Airmen's creed, we have answered our nation's call. We have been faithful to our proud heritage. We have defended our country with our lives. We will not falter, and we will not fail."