Naperville's 9/11 remembrance has special guests
Naperville's Sept. 11 ceremony honored Army Master Sgt. Sheldrick McNeal, Army Sgt. Zach Arnold and the thousands of military personnel who are fighting -- and who died fighting -- in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Army Master Sgt. Sheldrick McNeal has been back home in Naperville since January from a tour in Afghanistan.
He was planning to attend the city's Sept. 11 observance ceremony anyway, but a call from city officials got him a better seat and an easy assignment.
Along with fellow native son and Army sergeant, Zach Arnold, McNeal led the assembled crowd of more than 250 in a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance.
"If I hadn't been invited I was definitely going to be here anyway," McNeal said. "There was no need to practice the pledge. Those words are ingrained in my memory, my mind and my heart."
Arnold, a 2004 graduate of Neuqua Valley High School, lost a portion of his left leg when an improvised explosive device blew up under the Humvee he was riding in. Despite the breeze and cooler than normal temperatures, Arnold wore shorts that displayed his prosthetic knee.
He politely informed small children why his leg was different than theirs.
The Naperville ceremony honored the two military men and their thousands of brethren who are fighting -- and died fighting -- wars that were spurred by the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania six years ago.
It seemed only fitting to those who attended that the focus of the observance be on military personnel. After all, the namesake of Naperville's Sept. 11 memorial, Dan Shanower, was a commander in the Navy who died in the attack on the Pentagon.
"This has been a really outstanding tribute," said Carrol Lankenau, who attends church with the Shanower family. "The speakers were all so powerful and had such good things to say about the men and women serving."
FBI Special Agent Pablo Araya is also a Naperville native. He was childhood pals with Shanower and served in the military with him. He said he has seen firsthand working in Iraq the progress that is being made by military personnel and government agencies working together. But he warned of complacency and apathy while the wars are still being fought.
"While America has not seen another attack, elsewhere around the world is another story," he said. "Although they have been weakened, al-Qaida continues to recruit new members."
Naperville Mayor George Pradel announced that this is the last year the city and founding committee of the memorial will stage the observance. The Naperville Exchange Club will take over the duties next year.
"How do we do what people have done from their heart?" exchange club president Mike McManus said. "Luckily, we'll have some of those people stay with us, which will make it more of an easier transition."