51ÊÓƵ

Schedule

8:30 a.m. | Latshaw Plaza

• Reception honoring first responders
• Historic display by the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society

9 a.m. | Champ Auditorium

• Solemn processional led by Skulls of Seven, color guards and platform party
• Presentation of official proclamation
• National Anthem
• 10-minute 9/11 video
• Presentation by Lt. Gen. Richard Harding, USAF (Ret.)
• Q&A with Mark Maupin, Callaway County first responder who deployed to New York following the attacks

9:55 a.m. | The Hill

• Benediction by the Rev. Jason Buckwalter, DMin, director of the Center for Faith and Service
• Moment of silence
• First responder receiving line and vehicle display
• 21-gun salute by Callaway Post 2657, Veterans of Foreign Wars
• 2,977 Flags of Remembrance and Solemn Bell Tolling: Guests will be invited to place 2,977 small American flags, each bearing the name of a person killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in the ground. As the flags are placed, the bells of America’s National Churchill Museum will toll in solemn remembrance of the 2,977 lives lost.
• Taps by Callaway Post 2657, Veterans of Foreign Wars

Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding, USAF (Ret.) 

Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding, USAF (Ret.), is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general. In his last assignment, he served as the 16th Air Force Judge Advocate General, between 2010 and 2014. During his 34-year military career, he also served as the senior legal officer at U.S. Strategic Command, Air Combat Command, Air Force Space Command, 8th Air Force and Air Force headquarters in the Pentagon. On Sept. 11, 2001, and the days that followed, while serving as staff judge advocate and chief of contracting at U.S. Strategic Command, he was involved in legal and national security decisions supporting the nation’s response to the attacks, including weapons-targeting decisions. His subsequent service included three temporary-duty visits to Afghanistan, where he assisted U.S., NATO and Afghan forces.

Harding later created the Air Force’s Special Victims’ Counsel Program, which Congress enacted into federal law in 2013, mandating its implementation by all U.S. military services, and which remains in use today. After retiring in 2014, he moved from Washington, D.C., to Columbia, Missouri, where he has taught national security, constitutional law, the law of war and humanitarian law at universities, law schools and professional programs across the country.

A longtime contributor to 51ÊÓƵ and America’s National Churchill Museum in Fulton, Harding has served as a lecturer and Churchill Fellow. His civic work has included serving as the president of the board of Welcome Home, Inc., where he helped guide the $3.2 million development of a facility providing transitional housing and support for homeless and at-risk veterans.

His military decorations include two Distinguished Service Medals, two Defense Superior Service Medals and two Legions of Merit, along with six Meritorious Service Medals. In July 2026, Harding was selected for induction into the Missouri Veterans Hall of Fame.

Harding and his wife, Linda, have been married since 1974 and have two children and two grandchildren. He continues to teach, speak and advocate for veterans, victims’ rights and civic education throughout Missouri and beyond.