{"id":236514,"date":"2016-09-15T06:00:51","date_gmt":"2016-09-14T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=236514"},"modified":"2016-09-15T06:00:51","modified_gmt":"2016-09-14T20:00:51","slug":"new-hope-911-anniversary-commemorated-rota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/new-hope-911-anniversary-commemorated-rota\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018New hope\u2019 as 9\/11 anniversary commemorated on Rota"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-236514 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/new-hope-911-anniversary-commemorated-rota\/rota-pix-1-2\/'>rota-pix-1<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-236528'>\n\t\t\t\tRita Hocog Inos Junior and Senior High School\u2019s Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps conducts the posting of colors during Rota\u2019s 9\/11 memorial event \u201cWe Will Never Forget: Field of Heroes\u201d at the Benjamin T. Manglona International Airport last Sept. 12. (Eunice Angeles)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/new-hope-911-anniversary-commemorated-rota\/rota-pix-2-3\/'>rota-pix-2<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-236529'>\n\t\t\t\tRHI\u2019s JROTC troupe in formation during Rota\u2019s \u201cWe Will Never Forget: Field of Heroes.\u201d (Eunice Angeles)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon '>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/new-hope-911-anniversary-commemorated-rota\/rota-pix-3-3\/'>rota-pix-3<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<figcaption class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-236530'>\n\t\t\t\tRota Mayor Ephraim Atalig, special assistant for programs of the Rota Mayor\u2019s Office Aubry Hocog, and Rota Deputy Fire Commissioner Dennis Mendiola pose for a picture with programs specialist for Corporate Affairs of TanHoldings Eunice Angeles and Melinda Naputi of the Tan Siu Lin Foundation. (Eunice Angeles)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Rota commemorated the 15th anniversary of the 9\/11 tragedy last Monday as part of the nearly weeklong \u201cWe Will Never Forget: Field of Heroes\u201d event hosted by the Tan Siu Lin Foundation.<br \/>\nDespite dark clouds looming in the horizon and roaring winds battering the Benjamin T. Manglona International Airport, retired Sgt. Major Herman M. Atalig brought a new air of hope when he served as guest speaker.<br \/>\n\u201cI see disciplined cadets, I see disciplined firefighters and police. We see a lot of flags out there waving, resembling the freedom. Please join me and let\u2019s give a big round of applause for all the organizers, the police, the cadets, and the firemen,\u201d said Atalig.<br \/>\nHumility and respect came out from the retired U.S. Army veteran and former instructor of the ROTC. Atalig also thanked the hosts of the event, Tan Siu Lin Foundation. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am deeply honored and humbled to provide the special remarks commemorating the 15th year anniversary of the 9\/11. My heart of appreciation goes to Ms. Aubrey [Hocog], the mayor\u2019s project officer, for giving me the opportunity to participate and to the Tan Siu Lin Foundation for sponsoring this auspicious event. It is my hope that we continue this project for many more years to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Atalig expresses that any day is a good day for remembering those who have fallen serving the country. \u201cIt\u2019s a beautiful day for Rota to honor the fallen of 9\/11. Tonight, on the beautiful and peaceful island of Rota, thousands of miles from the tragic 9\/11 tragedy, we are standing proudly and in unity witnessing a hundred flags waving as the sun sets,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a testament that we will never forget the sacrifice of those that died and served as a reminder that life is too short and that there is no time to hate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Atalig reminisced about his time serving the country during the Vietnam War, where he saw people come together in an attempt to restore humanity amidst all the fighting. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cFifteen years ago was one of the darkest days in American history. We witnessed on TV the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which was similar to a war zone. It reminds me of a combat zone in Vietnam, where I hear a lot of screaming, and people helping each other at the risk of their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Atalig took his speech as a window to honor and remember those who chose to serve and set aside their own personal safety for that of others. \u201cThe heroic acts of the police, fire department, doctors, nurses, and civilians demonstrate the core value of courage and humanity during the 9\/11. Those memories would never be erased from my mind and the mind of the first responders and of the nation.\u201dAtalig also extended his hopeful aura to those who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the TSL Foundation for donating the proceeds to help first responders who are experiencing PTSD. The traumatic event of 9\/11 resulted in tens of thousands suffering from PTSD. Those suffering from PTSD must know that they are not alone and there is hope for a better tomorrow,\u201d said Atalig.<\/p>\n<p>Closing his speech, Atalig once again offered respect to the everyday heroes of the community, making the CNMI a tranquil paradise to live in. \u201cI would like to salute and honor the Rota Police Department, Fire and EMS, airport police, and our local heroes in the armed forces whose lives are at risk at a daily basis. These heroes continue to stand proud to preserve peace and to protect us from harm\u2019s way. Ensuring that we would never have another 9\/11.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rota commemorated the 15th anniversary of the 9\/11 tragedy last Monday as part of the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":236528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[12931,67,9941,4426],"class_list":["post-236514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-manglona-international-airport","tag-people","tag-ptsd","tag-vietnam-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}