Lisa Marchesoni
Posted: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 2:43 pm

Retired Col. Thomas Hickerson

Veterans, survivors and citizens paid tribute to veterans during the annual Veterans Day Memorial service Wednesday on the downtown Square.

Survivors cried silently and bowed their heads as Franklin Road Christian School seniors Brandon Russell and Mark Cox read the names of Rutherford County veterans who gave their lives, 42 in World War I, 104 in World War II, eight in Korea, 19 in Vietnam and 12 in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Vietnam veteran Spencer Dixon, who served as master of ceremonies, said the names of the war dead were listed on monuments on the Square.

“Families still live with the pain,” Dixon said.

Dixon, who was wounded in Vietnam, mentioned his Scout dog, Shack.

“He was killed saving my life,” Dixon said, explaining that he knew the dog was not as significant as the veterans who gave their lives.

Elsie Stem, who coordinated the memorial service, read about the loss of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action and the impact felt by their families. To signify the POW/MIAs, service men from each branch laid caps on an empty table.

Regan Best, a Riverdale High School senior, read her winning essay, “Does America Still Have Heroes?” In the essay, she recognized veterans, police officers, firefighters and teachers as everyday heroes. She mentioned Russell Hercules Jr., 22, who was killed Oct. 1, 2009 from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire in Wardak province, Afghanistan. He was a Blackman High School graduate.

“Russell Hercules gave all for his country,” Best said.

Retired Col. Thomas Hickerson of the U.S. Air Force gave the keynote address about his response as a contractor with Lockheed Martin at the Pentagon during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Hickerson quoted former President George Bush who noted the terrorists might destroy buildings “but they cannon touch the foundation of America.”

As a contractor for the military’s command and control communications at the Pentagon, Hickerson said he was in a different part of the building when the plane crashed. Four employees who were former military volunteered to stay while others evacuated.

He gathered his team and worked to keep the communications operating throughout the day. At one point when he went outside, he noticed two police helicopters flying around trying to protect the remainder of the Pentagon.

Later, he spotted F-16 fighter jets.

“I knew it was going to be OK,” Hickerson said with a smile, “The Air Force had arrived.”

The Pentagon was in flames by 6 p.m. with water poured on the building to fight the flames.

“The body bags were already piling up,” Hickerson noted.

He spent the second day assessing damage in wake of the attack and the loss of 192 deaths.

Americans impressed him because they responded with food and supplies for Pentagon workers.

His wife, Elizabeth, in Smyrna, vowed not to turn off her telephone during church services until she heard from her husband.

Teachers kept children calm, even though their parents worked in the Pentagon.

“Some of the moms and dads weren’t coming home that day,” Hickerson noted solemnly.

Former military men rescued toddlers and babies from the Pentagon’s day care center.

“Our guys knew how to do the job and take care of the children,” Hickerson noted.