It is cruel irony that practically on the eve of a service to memorialize the loss of five servicemen in a terror attack here a year ago, we are again watching on our televisions the carnage of yet another attack – this time a half a world away in Nice, France.
Our own heartbreak has been hard enough. But since that sunny July Thursday exactly one year ago, when Chattanooga lost its innocence to become another pin head on a terror attack map, we have watched in horror as at least 40 more attacks erupted around the world – including one in San Bernardino, Calif., and another in Orlando, Fla.
According to a recent New York Times analysis, even before this week’s bloodshed in France, more than 1,200 people outside of Iraq and Syria have been killed in attacks inspired or coordinated by the Islamic State since the fall of 2014.
Here in Chattanooga, we still cry for our own loss, and today we honor the memories of Navy Petty Officer Randall Smith, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Marine Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Marine Sgt. Carson Holmquist and Marine Lance Cpl. Squire Wells. We cry and pray for their families.
But we also cry and pray for the family and friends of our servicemen’s shooter, Chattanooga-raised Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, who drove a rented silver Mustang convertible in front of the military recruiting center on Lee Highway and sprayed bullets into the window before speeding away to a Navy and Marine reserve center several miles away. There Abdulazeez ran inside and began shooting again. In a matter of minutes, the four Marines were dead and the sailor lay fatally wounded. Abdulazeez died during the ensuing gun battle with police. Another Marine and a Chattanooga police officer also were injured in the attacks.
In the days that followed that horrific event, our city’s watch words became Chattanooga Strong.
And we were. We lived that moniker.
We recognized that the actions of this one troubled and radicalized young man were not reflective of the beliefs of the 2,000-plus Muslims who call Chattanooga home, or of the 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide.
Though we were shocked and grieving, we united to build memorials, to better fortify our local military facilities, to hold forums and better fortify our hearts and minds with knowledge and understanding.
Unquestionably, the memorials were the easy part. Mending and fortifying our hearts and collective community psyche continue to be the hardest part of our recovery. With each new newscast, each new attack, we must determinedly hold onto love and unity rather than stumble into hate and divisiveness.
We owe this not only to ourselves, but also to the memory of our own fallen. They all would expect it – even demand it – of us.
On this heart-wrenching anniversary, let us still and always be Chattanooga Strong.