Photo by Jenny Kirk After laying a wreath on the beam recovered from the World Trade Center and on display at Memorial Park in Marshall, (from left) Marshall Public Safety Director Rob Yant and Fire Chief Quentin Brunsvold stand at attention as Emily Dorschner sings “God Bless America” during the Remembering 9/11 ceremony on Tuesday.

MARSHALL — As the mother of a son who gave the ultimate sacrifice for this country, Pat Timmerman strongly believes that something good comes out of everything bad that happens in our lives.

Those words not only rung true for Pat and Gary Timmerman as they leaned on their faith, family and friends after the death of their son Jason Timmerman in Iraq, but also for the unsung heroes in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack — the deadliest terrorist act in world history.

“On February 21, 2005, we lost our precious son, First Lieutenant Jason Gary Timmerman, along with two of his military brothers, Staff Sergeant David Day and Sergeant Jesse Lhotka in an explosion in Iraq,” Pat Timmerman said during a “Remembering 9/11 event” held on Tuesday at Memorial Park in Marshall. “They were carrying an injured comrade to the medic helicopter when the enemy detonated a bomb, killing all three of our 151st Minnesota National Guard members. A parent’s worst nightmare became real for us that awful day.”

Nearly 3,000 lives were lost in the 9/11 attacks, including law enforcement officers, firefighters and others rescue workers and civilians who courageously tried to save lives that day 17 years ago.

“There is no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:13),” Timmerman said. “On 9/11, our nation’s worst nightmare became real for the United States of America. That day, firefighters, ambulance and recovery personnel, first responders, policemen and many others, put their lives on the line to help the injured and the dying. To this day, many are still losing their lives due to health effects of 9/11 and suicide from the terror and trauma they experienced that awful day.”

Since these everyday heroes and military servicemembers continue to put their lives on the line each day, Timmerman encouraged people to reach out and thank those people — like she and her family are now able to do for others.

“Reach out to the unspoken heroes in your community and in your life,” she said. “A gentle, kind word, a phone call, a simple visit, a meal, a hug, a card of thoughts and prayers mean the word to them. Have the courage to reach out to anyone who is hurting.”

Timmerman said she always admired how Jason took the time to help anyone in need.

“We absolutely could not have gotten through losing Jason without all the love, support and prayers we received so generously,” Timmerman said. “(He’s) gone from our lives, but never our heart. Because of what we have gone through together, our family is even closer than we were and we are better, stronger people. Our faith is a priority in our lives and we are more willing to reach out to others who are in need of our love and support.”

Through prayer, the Rev. Mark Steffl said 9/11 carries a heavy burden of memory for Americans.

“This day does not pass without our remembering each year,” Steffl said. “So we remember the images of death and destruction, images that human eyes were never meant to see. We remember words our ears were never meant to hear and the tender last words of husbands and wives who will never be embraced again. So we imagine the feeling of emptiness in the arms of children, who at the end of the day, could not find their mother or father. We remember our own feelings of emptiness as our sense of security, our own confidence and the predictable order of life and work were shaken.”

Steffl said our memories should also reflect the “heroism of many who lost their lives saving others.”

“We remember those who suffered and died and we grieve for them — friends and strangers alike — along with their families and friends,” he said. “So it’s right that this should not pass from our memory and our prayer. Along with our remembrance of profound loss, it also seems right that we give our voice to our deep longing for peace. We pray for those who are first responders, those who serve our communities and those who serve our nation.”

Chaplain Kelly Wasberg also encouraged others to reach out because there are still people suffering and there are still folks fighting.

“We’re still in Afghanistan, so what I encourage you to do today is thank a family member and a soldier,” Wasberg said. “It really does make a difference.”

Wasberg said he had the opportunity to go overseas with the same battalion after the loss of the three local soldiers.

“What we would do is pray, ask for safety and recognize that God was with us,” he said. “I did that 500 times and we had no injuries in that nine-month period. But there were injuries in the heart and in the mind that were still percolating and churning. We dealt with those and we’re still dealing with those.”

In a prayer, Wasberg shared his gratitude for those who served others, especially thanking those who were willing to go forward in the face of danger.

“Jason did that,” he said. “And his name is well-known in the Minnesota Army National Guard, as one of the very first to give his life in the cause of freedom. Especially today, we think of Jason and his values. Guide us to embrace freedom and love as he did, to love our neighbors, to be the better person, to give of ourselves, to think of others first, as he did.”

Jason Timmerman was 24 years old when he was killed — too young, but he definitely had a fulfilling and impactful life in those 24 years, his family said.

“Many people have said Jason accomplished more in his short life here on earth than most of us do in a lifetime,” Pat Timmerman said. “Taking responsibility and helping others were always Jason’s top priorities in life, and that’s what he was doing the day he, David and Jesse were killed. He was proud of what he and his military brothers were doing in Iraq and we know, put in the same situation, he would do again what he did on February 21, 2005. That is the kind of man Jason was.”

Timmerman said her son was very easy to raise and his moral compass was right on. He took pride in each of his accomplishments, but valued his service to others even more. He had a love for nature, baking cookies with his mom, playing rolle bolle with older brothers Eric and Craig, racing go-carts with his dad and brothers, working on the family farm and being a protector for his younger brother Travis, she said.

“No matter what you were doing with Jason, you were going to have a good time,” Timmerman said. “He had such a good sense of humor and such a love for life. He believed in living every day to the fullest and constantly went out of his way to help others.”

While in the process of moving out of an apartment during his college years, Timmerman said her son Jason was supposed to sell the clothes dryer he and his roommates owned. He nearly had it sold, but when he found out what was wrong with the woman’s dryer, Timmerman said Jason went and fixed hers instead.

“His roommates were not very happy with him, but that is the way Jason lived his life,” Pat Timmerman said. “He always did what was right, no matter what the cost.”

Whether it’s the men, women and children who died at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan (New York), the Pentagon in Washington, D.C, the United Airlines Flight 93 in rural Pennsylvania or the military personnel who fought the War on Terror, many at the event said it was important to remember.

“It’s just a touching time in history that we shouldn’t forget,” Kathy Paxton said. “It brings tears to your eyes.”

LeRoy Affolter also thought the program was very well done.

“It was very reverent,” Affolter said. “I thought the pastors’ remarks and those from the Timmermans were great. It was a wonderful, but sad occasion and they were able to hold up through it all. It was a wonderful ceremony and the Lord gave us a beautiful day.”

Afterward, Affolter said he kept thinking that the hymn “Onward, Christian Soldiers” seemed fitting, as the fight continues on.

As Emily Dorschner sang “God Bless America,” Marshall Fire Chief Quentin Brunsvold and Director of Public Safety Rob Yant placed a wreath on the beam — one recovered from the World Trade Center — at Memorial Park.

Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said city council member Craig Schafer had a key role in getting the beam and that there were other symbolic aspects about the park. In response to past questions about why a beam would be relevant in Marshall, Byrnes had an answer.

“This is an attack that really impacted the entire country and Marshall is part of the country,” he said. “So why not in Marshall? That’s why this park was developed. Everything has a meaning and those symbols remind us what we need to remember about 9/11.”

After the program, Schafer spoke with Holy Redeemer third-graders. And as they listened and asked questions, the students continued to hold tightly onto the tiny flags that VFW Auxiliary President Kathy Brockberg had given out to them at the beginning of the remembrance event.