Looking Back on Sept. 11, 2001

As a commemoration of the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, Patch is highlighting people directly impacted by that day.

Two men from the Ramona area have died in combat during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

And Osama bin Laden was killed on the anniversary of the death of one of them. That brings special closure for his father.

The two men were Ramon Ojeda and David L. McDowell.

Ojeda's father, Joaquin Ojeda of Santa Ysabel, told a crowd at Ramona that Osama Bin Laden was killed on the anniversary of his son's death, May 1. He said Bin Laden's death finally brings him closure for the loss of his son.

Army Spc. Ramon C. Ojeda

Ojeda, 22, died May 1, 2004 while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He was assigned to the 84th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Honolulu, Hawaii. Ojeda was killed when his convoy was attacked in Amarah, Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class David L. McDowell

McDowell, 30, died while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom on April 29, 2008.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash. McDowell died in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked using small arms fire.

Ramona's Congressman Served

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter was the first Marine combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to become a House Representative when he was elected in 2008. He represents the 52nd Congressional District, which includes Ramona.

He served in combat in the Marine Corps from 2002 to 2005 and was recalled in 2007. He now serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a strong opponent of further cuts in defense spending.

Hunter left his job as a business analyst to join the Marine Corps. He remained a reservist after he was honorably discharged in 2005, according to his biography on his House web site. He was promoted to captain in 2006.

Hunter served three combat tours: two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He was deployed to Iraq with the 1st Marine Division in 2003. In his second tour in 2004, he saw combat in Fallujah, Iraq, his biography states.

He was recalled to active duty in 2007, less than two years before he was elected to the House of Representatives. He came home after serving six months on the front lines in Afghanistan.

In a Patch editors' interview Aug. 31, Hunter said he's just an average American, who grew up in East County, went off to war, came home and ran for office.

A Julian opera singer, Delynn Ketcherside, told Patch she survived the twin towers attack in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001. Our story includes video of her performing at a tiny chapel on her family's property, Shadow Mountain Ranch, a bed and breakfast in the Pine Hills area of the mountain town.