Beaufort honors those lost on 9-11
The Island News
Its been 22 years since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, but Teri Maude remembers it like it happened yesterday.
Maude was the keynote speaker during the Patriot Day Observance sponsored by the Beaufort Exchange Club on Monday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
About 100 people braved the report of bad weather coming and attended the annual observance originally started by the late Beaufort City Councilwoman Donnie Beer. Several Beaufort County first responders were honored at the end of event.
“I got a call from a friend who asked if I was watching the TV news,” Maude said about the start of her day on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. “I turned on the TV and I watched the second jet crash into the second tower and knew this was no accident.”
She said the network switched coverage to the Pentagon where a third jet had crashed into it. Then it quickly went back the Twin Towers coverage in New York City.
Maude said she was brushing her teeth while getting ready to go to work and saw the wreckage at the Pentagon where her husband, Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, U.S. Army, worked. She saw the second floor window undamaged but saw in horror that her husband’s office on the first floor took a direct hit, killing him and everyone else in his office. But there was no official word yet.
She called her two daughters and told them to tune in, as well.
All civilian flights nationwide had been canceled. Maude said she made arrangements to catch a Navy flight to Washington, D.C., as she was still unable to reach her husband.
It wasn’t until days later she received official notification that her husband had been killed. Maude said her husband’s death made him the highest ranking officer killed in action since World War II.
On that day, 2,996 people were killed, including 412 first responders. There were 6,000 others injured, as well.
Maude urged everyone to never forget. She said teach the children about the attack so they won’t forget either.
“We can never forget!” she exclaimed, holding back tears.
Bob Sofaly has been photographing people and what they do in Beaufort since Ronald Reagan was elected president in 1980. He can be reached at bobsofaly@gmail.com.
