Covid-19 leads to separate 9/11 remembrances this year for Las Cruces & NMSU
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico -- First-responders and the New Mexico State University ROTC in recent years held a joint memorial for those lost during the 9/11 terrorist attack at the Horseshoe on the Aggie campus.
This year though, the two held separate services.
"This year because of the public health emergency we didn't feel it was right to invite members of the public to come down, to be in a crowd and to potentially spread a disease that is affecting all of us," said spokesman Dan Trujillo of the Las Cruces Police Department.
The Las Cruces Fire Department had an honor guard that paced in front of the fire station holding a shining axe much like the U.S. Honor Guard does in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Fire Chief Eric Esquivel expressed to ABC-7 the bravery his firefighters exhibit daily in the face of uncertain danger: “When the alarm goes off we are running into burning buildings. We're running into hazardous situations because of our training and what we took as an oath to do.”
Meantime at the NMSU Horseshoe, the university's ROTC program fired a 75mm cannon multiple times in order to mark the tragic events that took place the day of the terrorist attack.
NMSU Cadet Abraham Ribolta told ABC-7 he was ready to defend the nation should we ever face attack again.
“I am willing to serve the orders of my above officers and the President of the United States and do what the mission requires. Which if it means deployment out to the Middle East, I'm more than OK with that," he said.
