During Fort McCoy Prayer Breakfast, chaplain holds remembrance for 9/11 sacrifices, resilience 25 years later
Twenty-five years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Fort McCoy community members gathered Sept. 11, 2026, to remember those who lost their lives, honor those who responded, and reflect on the resilience that continues to shape the nation.
During Fort McCoy’s 2026 Retiree Appreciation Day Prayer Breakfast, Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Walter McCall, Fort McCoy Garrison chaplain with the Religious Support Office, led a remembrance presentation that combined historical military records, personal reflection, and a message of hope. His presentation included a video recalling the attacks and a review of a historical report documenting the Army Reserve’s response to the events of 9/11.
McCall’s presentation connected the sacrifices of the first responders and military personnel who served that day with the continuing importance of community, healing, and resilience.
Preserving Army Reserve’s 9/11 history
McCall explained that the311th Military History Detachmentwas tasked with documenting the events in New York City, while the 90th Military History Detachment covered the Pentagon response in Washington, D.C.
The Army Reserve’s Office of Army Reserve History subsequently published two reports in 2003, includingThe Role of the Army Reserve in the 11 September Attacks: New York City, prepared by the 311th Military History Detachment. The reports documented the Army Reserve’s response through narrative accounts, photographs, and interviews with Reservists involved in the aftermath.
While reviewing the historical material, McCall highlighted a foreword written byLt. Gen. Thomas J. Plewes, Chief of the Army Reserve. Plewes served as chief from May 25, 1998, to May 24, 2002. The foreword in the New York report is dated May 21, 2002, rather than 2003. McCall said reading Plewes’ words helped him visualize the events of Sept. 11 and recognize the courage demonstrated by soldiers and civilians.
The foreword describes the attacks as an unimaginable national tragedy and recognizes the courage and selflessness of ordinary Americans and Army Reserve personnel. It also remembers Army Reserve soldiers who died while responding in their civilian roles, including firefighters and personnel working at the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Remembering those who responded
McCall reviewed individual stories of Army Reserve personnel who lost their lives during the attacks.
McCall also highlighted the story of retired Col. Rick Rescorla, a Vietnam veteran and security director for Morgan Stanley at the World Trade Center. Rescorla helped evacuate thousands of employees and returned to search for people who remained in the building before losing his life. The stories illustrated the individual acts of courage and selflessness that characterized the response to the attacks.
McCall also described the Army Reserve’s broader response, which extended beyond the initial rescue efforts. Army Reserve personnel supported emergency operations, provided security, assisted civilian agencies, and mobilized to support recovery efforts.
The 311th Quartermaster Company (Mortuary Affairs), based in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, deployed volunteers to the Pentagon within 72 hours of the attacks. Soldiers worked to recover human remains and personal effects from the debris.
The Survivor Tree: A message of hope
After discussing the lives lost and the Army Reserve’s response, McCall transitioned to a message about hope and resilience through the story of theSurvivor Treeat the World Trade Center Memorial.
The Callery pear tree had been planted in the World Trade Center plaza in 1970. During the attacks, the tree was crushed beneath steel, concrete, and burning debris. In October 2001, recovery workers discovered the damaged tree with a small cluster of green leaves.
Workers transported the tree to a nursery in the Bronx, where arborists cared for its damaged roots and helped it recover. In December 2010, the tree was returned to Lower Manhattan and replanted at the 9/11 Memorial.
McCall used the tree’s survival as a metaphor for people who have experienced trauma, loss, and hardship.
“Hope does not require complete fullness to begin,” he said. “It only requires a spark.”
He explained that even when people feel fractured, the presence of life and the ability to endure can provide the beginning of recovery.
McCall identified three spiritual lessons from the Survivor Tree:
— Sprouting from devastation:Even after profound loss and trauma, the possibility of renewal remains.
— The necessity of the nursery:Healing requires community support, care, and trusted people who help others recover.
— Carrying a scar without being defined by it:Resilience does not mean erasing the past but allowing purposeful growth to continue despite the scars.
McCall emphasized that military service members, veterans, civilians, contractors, and families can all carry visible and unseen burdens. He encouraged those attending to seek support through chaplains, behavioral health professionals, battle buddies, coworkers, family members, and veteran service organizations.
“Resilience is not an absence of scars,” McCall said. “It is a courageous decision to allow smooth, purposeful growth to flourish above all.”
Honoring sacrifice, looking to future
As his presentation concluded, McCall recognized the 2,977 people killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, including the 184 people who died at the Pentagon. He also honored the military personnel who lost their lives during the conflicts that followed and the Gold Star families who continue to carry the weight of those sacrifices.
Addressing the retirees and veterans attending the breakfast, McCall expressed gratitude for their service and contributions to the nation.
He also recognized current Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians, contractors, and families, describing each as an essential part of the military community and its continued readiness.
“To our retirees and veterans in all branches, thank you for stepping into the breach when the nation needed you most,” McCall said. “You remain a permanent, revered part of this garrison family.”
McCall concluded by asking attendees to stand for the playing ofTaps, providing a solemn close to the remembrance and an opportunity to reflect on the lives lost, the sacrifices made, and the responsibility to preserve their memory.
Twenty-five years after the attacks, his presentation connected the historical record of the Army Reserve's response with a continuing message: remembering the past, supporting one another, and finding hope through resilience.
Fort McCoy’s motto beginning in 2026 is “Training the Total Force and Shaping the Future since 1909.” The installation’s mission: “Fort McCoy strengthens Total Force Readiness by serving as a training center, Mobilization Force Generation Installation, and Strategic Support Area enabling warfighter lethality to deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.”
And Fort McCoy’s vision is, “To be the premier training center supporting the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal armed forces.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin. The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online athttps://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
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