An Afternoon of Hope Remembers Muskego Boy, Victims of 9/11

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, tucked away from larger ceremonies recalling a horrific act, a simple and beautiful tribute honored two injured veterans and a boy who died too soon.

Acres of Hope and Aspirations, a five-acre rehabilitation center specifically for individuals recovering from traumatic brain injury, presented the ceremonies on September 11. Lisa Alberte, the RN who helps to rehabilitate patients, felt the day was a perfect opportunity to recall Evan Coubal, an 11-year-old boy from Bay Lane Middle School who died from a head injury on the playground within weeks of a similar injury playing football.

With an audience of friends and family members, community visitors and staff, as well as resident therapy animals, Muskego High School senior Lauren Wundruck sang the National Anthem from overhead. Muskego Police Officer Eric Nowicki read a poem called The Day the Sky Stood Still.  

The flag was presented by in-patient Iraq veterans Winlom Woods and David Halula. Alberte invited the crowd to a decorative bench dedicated to Coubal beside the waterfall. As she and Katie Godlewski, a girl of about Evan’s age who lives with the effects of head injury, unveiled the bench Alberte said it offered a place for everyone to enjoy the peace and serenity of the water.