thedrifter
09-12-06, 07:49 AM
Beaufort remembers 9/11
Fifth anniversary prompts discussion about Sept. 11
Published Tuesday September 12 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
This year was the first time Marine Lance Cpl. Dominic Orlando and Amanda Orlando couldn't make it home to New York for Sept. 11.
The two, who were thrown into the chaos and helped sort through the rubble of the World Trade Center five years ago at ages 16 and 18, respectively, have been there every other anniversary to remember those lost with the New York City emergency personnel who were beside them.
However, the modest Beaufort memorial service with about 200 residents and emergency and military personnel at Pigeon Point Park on Monday proved just as emotional, if not more, on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
"Each year, it gets harder and harder to cope," said Dominic Orlando, who was a volunteer firefighter on Sept. 11, 2001, and enlisted in the Marines because of the attacks. "Now that we're farther away, it's harder for us to go back."
Now with Dominic Orlando stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and with already one deployment to Iraq under his belt, the couple is still involved in emergency response. Dominic Orlando is a volunteer at Beaufort Fire Department, and Amanda Orlando is trying to start a career in EMS, for which she was a volunteer five years ago.
"We're not obligated to do it. We want to do it," said Amanda Orlando, adding that her EMS unit lost one person during the rescue efforts.
Since the attacks, the couple has had two sons, one almost 3 and another a year old, and Amanda Orlando said no matter how painful the memories can be, they already talk to them about Sept. 11.
"They'll know what happened," she said. "It's not just an event. It's part of us."
The fifth anniversary of the attacks had other Beaufort residents talking about their losses, asking others not to forget them.
Terri Maude lost her husband, Army Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, in the attack on the Pentagon.
"Tonight we remember how we supported each other," she said. "Two years ago tonight I spent my first Sept. 11 in Beaufort. You're becoming a new family."
Debbie Standifer didn't attend any memorial services, but in the first time in five years, she made an effort to speak out about her cousin and best friend, Elizabeth Holmes, who worked for Euro-Brokers and died in the south tower of the World Trade Center.
The two grew up together on St. Helena Island, and with more ceremony surrounding the attacks, the fifth anniversary has been especially hard, Standifer said.
"Today was awful, and so was yesterday," she said. "It's too hard to do anything, knowing what kind of relationship we had."
During the two weeks leading up to Sept. 11, 2001, Standifer talked to Holmes almost every day on the phone while Standifer was on vacation in California. Standifer was upstairs packing for her flight that Tuesday morning when the friend she was visiting ran upstairs with the news.
"I immediately got on the phone," she said. "I tried calling her and couldn't get an answer. ... I was hoping she was still alive. I realized she was gone once the tower fell."
Standifer's 41-year-old cousin left behind a teenage son and a fiance -- and an empty spot at family reunions on St. Helena Island.
"She was my hanging buddy," Standifer said. "I was so used to her coming home."
However, those without direct connections to Sept. 11, as many Beaufort residents are, should feel affected by that day, also, Amanda Orlando said.
"It affected how people see, affected how people think. It applies to them just as much, if not more," she said.
Ellie
Fifth anniversary prompts discussion about Sept. 11
Published Tuesday September 12 2006
By LORI YOUNT
The Beaufort Gazette
This year was the first time Marine Lance Cpl. Dominic Orlando and Amanda Orlando couldn't make it home to New York for Sept. 11.
The two, who were thrown into the chaos and helped sort through the rubble of the World Trade Center five years ago at ages 16 and 18, respectively, have been there every other anniversary to remember those lost with the New York City emergency personnel who were beside them.
However, the modest Beaufort memorial service with about 200 residents and emergency and military personnel at Pigeon Point Park on Monday proved just as emotional, if not more, on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
"Each year, it gets harder and harder to cope," said Dominic Orlando, who was a volunteer firefighter on Sept. 11, 2001, and enlisted in the Marines because of the attacks. "Now that we're farther away, it's harder for us to go back."
Now with Dominic Orlando stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and with already one deployment to Iraq under his belt, the couple is still involved in emergency response. Dominic Orlando is a volunteer at Beaufort Fire Department, and Amanda Orlando is trying to start a career in EMS, for which she was a volunteer five years ago.
"We're not obligated to do it. We want to do it," said Amanda Orlando, adding that her EMS unit lost one person during the rescue efforts.
Since the attacks, the couple has had two sons, one almost 3 and another a year old, and Amanda Orlando said no matter how painful the memories can be, they already talk to them about Sept. 11.
"They'll know what happened," she said. "It's not just an event. It's part of us."
The fifth anniversary of the attacks had other Beaufort residents talking about their losses, asking others not to forget them.
Terri Maude lost her husband, Army Lt. Gen. Timothy Maude, in the attack on the Pentagon.
"Tonight we remember how we supported each other," she said. "Two years ago tonight I spent my first Sept. 11 in Beaufort. You're becoming a new family."
Debbie Standifer didn't attend any memorial services, but in the first time in five years, she made an effort to speak out about her cousin and best friend, Elizabeth Holmes, who worked for Euro-Brokers and died in the south tower of the World Trade Center.
The two grew up together on St. Helena Island, and with more ceremony surrounding the attacks, the fifth anniversary has been especially hard, Standifer said.
"Today was awful, and so was yesterday," she said. "It's too hard to do anything, knowing what kind of relationship we had."
During the two weeks leading up to Sept. 11, 2001, Standifer talked to Holmes almost every day on the phone while Standifer was on vacation in California. Standifer was upstairs packing for her flight that Tuesday morning when the friend she was visiting ran upstairs with the news.
"I immediately got on the phone," she said. "I tried calling her and couldn't get an answer. ... I was hoping she was still alive. I realized she was gone once the tower fell."
Standifer's 41-year-old cousin left behind a teenage son and a fiance -- and an empty spot at family reunions on St. Helena Island.
"She was my hanging buddy," Standifer said. "I was so used to her coming home."
However, those without direct connections to Sept. 11, as many Beaufort residents are, should feel affected by that day, also, Amanda Orlando said.
"It affected how people see, affected how people think. It applies to them just as much, if not more," she said.
Ellie