9/11 service to be held before homecoming at Charleroi football game

Navy veteran and Charleroi graduate Matthew Guzur is among the special event’s organizers.

Matthew Guzur still remembers walking into his division office aboard the USS Laboon on Sept. 11, 2001, and seeing everyone glued to the television.

Four hours later, he and the rest of the Atlantic Fleet were at sea, unsure where they were headed or how long they would be gone.

Twenty-five years later, Guzur will commemorate that day on the football field of his hometown high school, joined by fellow veterans and first responders from communities across the Charleroi Area School District.

Together, they will carry a massive American flag onto the Myron Pottios Stadium field Friday evening as part of a special 9/11 remembrance before Charleroi’s homecoming football game.

The ceremony will take place during pregame festivities at 6:25 p.m., following the presentation of Charleroi’s homecoming court. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The ceremony will bring together representatives from local fire and police departments, Rostraver West Newton EMS, American Legion Post 22 and VFW Post 12247, along with veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

For Guzur, a 1997 Charleroi graduate who retired from the Navy after 24 years of service, the tribute is intended to remember those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, while recognizing those whose service followed.

“Carrying the flag onto the field is a way to commemorate 9/11 and honor the first responders who perished in the performance of their duties and the servicemen and women who answered the nation’s call and fought in the Global War on Terror,” Guzur said.

He said the event also serves as a tribute to the first responders and veterans who served and continue to serve the community.

And the setting, he said, could hardly be more fitting.

“Nothing screams ‘America!’ more than a huge national ensign carried by first responders and veterans across a high school football field before a game,” Guzur said.

The idea began with local photographer Jenn Codeluppi, who had wanted to organize a tribute involving first responders, veterans and a large American flag.

Guzur, who serves as first vice commander of American Legion Post 22 in Charleroi, became involved after an unrelated conversation with Codeluppi in August.

His son, who plays clarinet, had asked him about Charleroi’s alma mater. Guzur started singing it before realizing he couldn’t remember all the words.

He began looking through one of the programs sold at football games, expecting to find the alma mater printed inside. When he couldn’t find it, friends suggested he contact Codeluppi.

During their conversation, Codeluppi mentioned the tribute she had been hoping to organize.

There was just one problem: She needed a flag large enough to make it happen.

Guzur knew where to find one.

A large flag previously belonging to Carol Claybaugh was in the possession of Leslie Woncheck, an instructor with the high school band. Guzur contacted Woncheck, who agreed to let them use it for the ceremony.

From there, the idea quickly began taking shape.

After receiving approval from the Charleroi Area School District, Guzur began reaching out to first responder organizations throughout the communities that comprise the district.

Many of the contacts were people he already knew.

He also brought the idea to American Legion Post 22 and contacted the recently reformed VFW Post 12247 to make sure local veterans were represented.

Whenever possible, Guzur wanted those carrying the flag to have another connection to the community by being Charleroi graduates themselves.

The group is expected to include 16 first responders and veterans. Among them are American Legion Post 22 Commander Maxwell Antonucci, a Navy veteran; Army veteran Joe Valla; Marine Corps veteran Robin Robinson; and first responders from several communities in the district.

The group will carry the flag onto the field already unfurled and hold it as the band performs “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the school’s alma mater. Those in attendance will also be asked to observe a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims of Sept. 11.

In addition to Guzur, the following will be participating in the ceremony: Braden Henson of the Charleroi Regional Police Department, U.S. Navy, 2019-24; Ian Whiten of the Charleroi Fire Department, Class of 2013; Fred Schwalb of the Lock 4 VFC, Class of 1990; Tony Mosco of the RESA Police Department, Class of 1997; Marie Wright and Adam Wilkinson of the Stockdale VFD; Taylor Smith of Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services, Class of 2013; North Belle Vernon Police Chief Eugene Lipari, also representing RWNES, Class of 1989; Phil Lipari of RWNES and Fallowfield VFC, Charleroi Class of 1993; Maxwell Antonucci, commander of American Legion Post 22 in Charleroi, Class of 2007 and U.S. Navy veteran, 200711; Michael Powell Sr., a member of Charleroi VFW Post 12247 and retired U.S. Army veteran; Coast Guard veteran Michael Powell Jr., Class of 1996, who served from 2001-18; retired Army veteran Joe Valla, Class of 1986, who served on active duty from 1986-90 followed by six years in the Army Reserve; Air Force veteran Jason Fields, who served from 1992-96; Marine Corps veteran Robin Robinson, Class of 1972, who served from 1972-76; and Navy veteran Matt Guzur, Charleroi Class of 1997, who served from 1997-2021.

Reflecting on 9/11

For Guzur, the ceremony carries a connection that reaches back 25 years.

On Sept. 11, 2001, he was serving aboard the USS Laboon, a guided-missile destroyer home-ported in Norfolk, Va.

Guzur was preparing to go aloft to perform maintenance on radar equipment on the ship’s mast when he stepped into his division office.

Everyone was glued to the television, watching the events unfold.

Four hours later, Guzur said, the Laboon and the entire Atlantic Fleet were underway.

“We did not know where we were going, or for how long, but we knew we were safer out to sea than pier side,” Guzur recalled.

Fortunately, the Laboon returned three days later, but for Guzur and countless others, the world they returned to had changed.

“As we all know, life, in and out of the Navy, was never the same,” he said.

Guzur retired as a senior chief petty officer in 2021.

Toward the end of that year, he moved back home to the Charleroi area.

Now, a quarter-century after the attacks, Guzur will mark the anniversary in the community where his story began.

This time, instead of being aboard a Navy destroyer preparing for an uncertain mission, he will be on his hometown football field alongside others who have answered calls to serve, whether overseas in the military or at home as police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

He hopes plenty of other people with ties to Charleroi will be there with them.

“It would be great to see the Charleroi football stadium full of Charleroi alumni to take part in this event,” Guzur said.