News | Leonard W. Kidd Memorial

American Legion Post 2001 is proud to present Richard Ryan with the 16th District, Legionnaire of the Year Award. Richard has gone above to help Veterans in need, throughout the Loudoun County community (and sometimes beyond). Richard exemplifies Post 2001 values and mission readiness.

Richard Ryan is the Legionnaire that has performed the most outstanding service to the Leonard W. Kidd Memorial American Legion Post 2001 in Ashburn, Virginia. Richard is the Finance Officer for the Post, and we would not be nearly as effective in the community without him.

He began the year as the coordinator and driver for World War II Veteran, Norman Duncan, in the Leesburg Independence Day Parade. This effort was a highlight for the Post as well as the parade, as Mr. Duncan received special ovations from the crowd in attendance.

Comrade Ryan continued his service by applying for and receiving grants from community groups to assist in our efforts to prevent veteran homelessness. He is a strong advocate for caring for our veterans.

He led our efforts to find, repair and distribute motorized wheelchairs and scooters to veterans in our community to enable them to gain mobility independence, free of charge. He is now establishing a network within our county to find more wheelchairs and place them with even more veterans.

He led and was a keynote speaker for the Rotary Club of Ashburn’s Flags for Heroes event on Memorial Day. Please join me in congratulating Richard on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AshburnLegion

Comrade Ryan is the first Post 2001 recipient to earn this award.

In Remembrance of 9/11

On September 11, 2001, a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks were perpetrated, against the United States, by the Islamic terrorist group Al Qaeda. The attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, over 25,000 injuries, and substantial long-term health consequences. This was the single deadliest terrorist attack in human history and the single deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed, respectively.

Four passenger airliners, which had departed from airports in the northeastern United States bound for California were hijacked by 19 al-Qaeda terrorists. Two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan. Within an hour and 42 minutes, both 110-story towers collapsed.

Debris and the resulting fires caused a partial or complete collapse of all other buildings in the World Trade Center complex, including the 47-story 7 World Trade Center tower, as well as significant damage to ten other large surrounding structures. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon (the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense) in Arlington County, Virginia, which led to a partial collapse of the building’s west side. The fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, was initially flown toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania, after passengers thwarted the hijackers.

Heroes from 9/11