Andrea Medeiros
amedeiros@abc6.com
Here in Rhode Island and across the country, flags flew at half staff, Tuesday.
That was just one of the many ways we remembered the thousands who lost their lives on September 11th, no eleven years ago.
Hundreds also gathered at Newport's Naval War College, where nearly a dozen graduates, who lost their lives in the attacks, were honored.
It was a ceremony to honor the people who lost their lives on September 11th, but also a moment to remember those who lost their family and friends on that sunny day 11 years ago.
"What's tough today is there were so many that I lost that day," said Navy Captain Ray Keledei, "It's not one individual. I lost 42 friends and coworkers that I'd known, for some almost a decade."
Captain Ray Keledei is one of only a handful of survivors from the Navy Command Center in the Pentagon. The plane hit the building just as he was walking back to his office.
"Those emotions are difficult to keep in and actually I shouldn't keep them in," said Captain Keledei.
It was a reality he said took him all this time to finally face. That's why he was speaking at Newport's Naval War College, Tuesday, telling others not to repress their memories, like he did.
"Not to lose what I lost, more than my friends and co–workers that day 11 years ago, but also I lost a lot of my past, which again has taken me a long time to rebuild," said Captain Keledei.
Also part of the ceremony, a wreath was laid near a monument to remember 11 lives lost, including Navy Captain Gerald DeConto.
Those eleven were all members of the Naval War College, including Massachusetts native DeConto, who was working in the Pentagon with Keledei but never made it out alive. His family comes to events like these every year:
"I know it's what my brother Gerry would expect, and I think in the broader picture it's something that we as a country need to sit back and reflect upon," said DeConto's brother Ray.
So with the tearful thank you's and hand shakes from family members, Keledei, who is now dean of students at the Naval War College, hopes his students will continue to learn from those who lost their lives on September 11th.
