The City of Woodstock unveiled a new memorial during its 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Sept. 11, 2016, which took place in The Park at City Center on Arnold Mill Road in Downtown Woodstock.
The city received two 12-foot sections of subway track on May 25, pieces that had been scavenged from a subway station beneath the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack.
Woodstock Mayor Pro Tem Warren Johnson announced the artifact’s dedication at the end of the 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony. He said you can actually see scars from the attack left on the beams.
The artifact is now on display in Downtown Woodstock. Passers-by can admire the new memorial as they walk through the downtown area in front of the popular gazebo.
Woodstock’s memorial event began at 2 p.m. Sunday with the presentation of the colors. The King’s Choir, a children’s choir from The King’s Academy, sang the National Anthem, and then the gatherers recited the pledge of allegiance.
Prayer at the event was led by Pastor Robert Arsenault from God’s Rolling Thunder Church, and a local singer performed “Amazing Grace” and “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”
Former Georgia Sen. Chip Rogers also spoke at the memorial event. He highlighted the division of America today, especially during the 2016 presidential election.
Rogers said that he remembers America being so united on Sept. 12, 2001, but said that now we have grown apart.
“If you watch the political campaigns, the parties are not about America anymore,” Johnson told The Sentinel. “We’re more divided politically. I believe that we are divided racially, and instead of embracing our likenesses, we seem to be focusing on our differences.”
