Gray clouds provide fitting backdrop for LV ceremonies

Ed Koch and Stephen Curran

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002 | 11:15 a.m.

As drops from a pre-dawn shower fell on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Mary Lamas solemnly but proudly watched her son,Clark County Firefighter Mike Hutcherson march toward Station 18 on Flamingo Road.

"It's very appropriate we have this type of weather because I am still just so sad," she said, watching Hutcherson carry the department's flag, leading a procession of firefighters from agencies throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

"I have always thought about the dangers he faces on the job, but in the past year, more so."

Lamas was one of but a few spectators who braved the weather and early hour to watch the commemoration, one of several events in the valley.

In memorial services in Las Vegas this morning, ceremonies and bells marked the times a year ago planes hijacked by terrorists hit the towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania.

This morning ceremonies were led by Gov. Kenny Guinn and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, with police and firefighters participating.

"From this great tragedy to a great country ... a new spirit has emerged -- one of brotherhood and patriotism," Guinn said during a ceremony that featured a flyover of an F-15 from Nellis Air Force Base. "I join President Bush in proclaiming today Patriot Day."

The ceremony included an invocation by representatives of the Jewish, Muslim and Mormon communities.

"This is a day all Americans should cherish their loved ones -- a day to rediscover American strength and resilience," said Piper Overstreet, spokeswoman for Rep. Shelly Berkley, D-Nev.

Flag-raising ceremonies took place at Nellis Air Force Base and the Army's 6th Recruiting Brigade Headquarters in Las Vegas. At the Henderson Salvation Army, flags that flew over the organization's relief station at Ground Zero, were raised at dawn.

On Flamingo Road, Lamas stood beside her daughter Amanda Viera and 4-year-old grandson Matthew.

"It's amazing," Matthew Viera said, referring to the rain-glistened fire trucks with their brightly flashing lights that followed the procession of bagpipers, drummers and firefighters who wore everything from dress blues to department-issued T-shirts and khakis.

"I would hope that by taking him to a ceremony like this he will better understand the important work that firefighters do," Amanda said.

Clark County Fire Department Capt. Eric Poleski was one of the marchers, but instead of wearing his regular uniform, he wore the light blue tartan of the Desert Skye Pipes and Drums -- the only firefighter in the group.

"You so much want to play well for funerals and events like this," said piper Poleski, who is one-quarter Scottish. "I feel it is such an honor to be asked to pay tribute to the firefighters, police and civilians who died a year ago."

Along the procession route from the Strip to the station at Paradise Road, Desert Skye performed such pipe classics as "42nd Black Watch," "When the Battle's Over' and, as it turned into the station, the upbeat "Scotland the Brave."

A ceremony that included the reading the names of the 343 firefighters killed at the World Trade Center a year ago and a five-minute moment of silence was concluded with the pipers playing the mournful hymn "Amazing Grace."

"This coincides with what is happening at fire departments all over the country," said CCFD spokesman Bob Leinbach. "We hope it will bring closure and a sense of looking ahead -- to unite with the entire nation and move on."

CCFD Deputy Chief Steve Hanson, who was part of a firefighter task force that worked in the devastation of the World Trade Center in late September, said he knew several firefighters who died and his thoughts are with their families.

"I think when something like this happens, everyone feels the same as you do, and you never forget," he said. "So ceremonies like this do help you feel some sense of closure."

At the New York-New York, the sun broke through the storm clouds at dawn, providing an inspirational backdrop for the release of patriotic red, white and blue balloons in memory of those who lost their lives.

Mary June Castaneda of Las Vegas coordinated that event with friends in Milwaukee and New York who simultaneously released balloons.

"What we are thinking is that (the balloons) are angels and that they (the angels) will be with us at all times," she said.

Danny Daly, a tourist from England, was in Las Vegas last Sept. 11 and felt it was appropriate to return today.

"We felt we were part of the grief of the United States and we decided to come back and pay our respects," he said, walking the Strip with his daughter Catherine, who noted she still could not forget "those awful images" of the attacks.

Others said that today is a time for all Americans to damn the fear of potential future terrorist attacks and get on with our normal lives.

"Nobody is going to scare me out of the things I want to do," said George Fitzgerald of St. Louis, who was staying at the Excalibur.

"I'm over 70 years old and I would go to defend my country tomorrow," the former Army ranger said.

Like the rest of the country, Las Vegas felt the loss.

Palo Verde High School language teacher Barbara Edwards died when United Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. She had taken leave to visit friends on the East Coast and another brief trip to Los Angeles.

Edwards, 58, was on her way back to Virginia with two friends when she died.

In Arlington, Va., the parents of Pfc. Matthew Commons, an Army Ranger and Boulder City High School graduate, mourned the six-month anniversary of their son's death earlier this month.

Commons, 21, died in a March 4 battle in Afghanistan, the youngest of the seven soldiers killed in the battle.

For many, though, it was a young Las Vegas girl who helped put an optimistic face on the tragedy.

Alana Milawski, 4, was one of thousands who gathered at a candlelight vigil at the Thomas & Mack Center Sept. 12. When she was featured in a Las Vegas Sun photo the following day, her image became an unforgettable part of the tragedy, being featured in national newspapers, magazines and a British newspaper.