Nearly 1,300 consecutive weeks: Lynchburg veterans remember 9/11 and honor the fallen
Rain, snow, or shine, a weekly troop rally born after 9/11 at Monument Terrace continues to stand strong 25 years later.
LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - It has become the anthem of the intersection of 9th and Church Streets in Lynchburg every Friday. The honking of car horns. To say thank you to our military. It’s been that way for nearly 25 years.
“We had our first rally on November 30, 2001, on a Friday,” Marine veteran and organizer Steve Bozeman.
Bozeman didn’t want troops to feel the same rejection he felt after Vietnam. So when an anti-war group protested after 9/11, he showed up.
“They lasted about six months, and we stayed and kept going Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran so here we are,” said Bozeman.
Nearly 1,300 Fridays later, Bozeman is still here.
“I felt a calling that God was saying to go get involved and I did,” said Bozeman.
Over the years our cameras have been there to capture milestone moments like 500 weeks in 2011, 15 years in 2016 and 1000 weeks in 2021.
“We started out not planning on week two or three, next thing you know it’s 500 weeks,” said Bozeman in 2011.
This troop rally has become a time to check in on each other.
“We help vets. Period,” said Bozeman.
Like Navy veteran Lou Basten.
“This is a lot of the glue the veterans that hold our country together and this is a great opportunity to relive the best of the military experience,” said Basten.
And Army veteran Billy Torrence.
“We can go anywhere we want to go in the heat or the rain or the snow or the sleet, so we can come down here and support the men and women who are on the front line protecting our freedom,” said Torrence.
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However, each Friday is a painful reminder of the price of freedom.
“An attitude of appreciation for deceased veterans and those still currently serving,” said Torrence.
“Without the armed services this would be a different world,” said Basten.
And every time a local veteran reaches their end of watch, a name is added to the hero flag case. On this day they added name 176.
“It’s part of our culture. It’s part of our recognition historically and the importance of the armed services and what it means to our freedom,” said Basten.
“We have a responsibility as veterans to take care of each other,” said Torrence.
So, they keep showing up, because Steve knows firsthand the throes of war.
“Oh yea, the blood is all over my hands, it still is,” said Bozeman about his time in Vietnam.
A heavy burden, but one he doesn’t have to carry alone. Because with every honk, Steve is reminded of a city rallied behind them.
“Lynchburg is a very patriotic city. We have a lot of veteran’s organizations in town. So many groups and relationships have come out of this and blossomed from this rally,” said Bozeman.
And on this particular Friday, the honks aren’t the only anthem echoing through this intersection. They wrapped up the rally with a barbershop quartet singing the National Anthem.
“The older I get the more I can feel it, we’re all blessed. God’s been good to us and we’re very fortunate,” said Basten.
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