thedrifter
09-12-07, 05:16 AM
Ceremony honors those who died Sept. 11, 2001
BY JENNIFER HLAD
September 11, 2007 - 3:36PM
THE DAILY NEWS
Six years from the day terrorists commandeered four commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, Onslow County residents bowed their heads to remember the victims — the airline passengers, the people killed in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the first responders and the military who have fallen in the war on terror.
The ceremony — the county’s first community-sponsored event in honor of Sept. 11, 2001 —“was long overdue,” said Jim Meyers a member of the Blue Knights law enforcement motorcycle club, who also worked as a counselor with first responders and families in New York after the attacks.
In the past, community members have spontaneously gathered at the World Trade Center beam next to the Beirut Memorial, but there have not been any large-scale organized events.
The Onslow Civic Affairs Committee decided that because the community has so many ties to the attacks and the war, it was time for an event, said Don Herring, chairman of the committee.
“It’s not just any one person’s event, it’s the whole community’s event,” he said.
During the ceremony, volunteers represented various people who died in the attacks: An 11-year-old on a trip sponsored by the National Geographic Society, a Boston University graduate on her way to start her new career, a woman whose body was discovered in the building wreckage on her first wedding anniversary, a man who planned to get married to his girlfriend of nine years, a civilian employee of the Army who read to her husband every night, an emergency services worker who was a sharpshooter trained in counterterrorism tactics, the founder and coach of the police department’s lacrosse team.
The ceremony included a moment of silence to remember those who died and those who are in harm’s way now because of the attacks. As the gathered veterans, civilians, first responders and service members stood silent, the police and fire sirens began to wail — a reminder of the emergency service workers, law enforcement officers and firefighters who ran into the burning buildings as others ran out.
The ceremony also honored service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the war on terror.
“To all these brave men and women, we say thank you, and God bless you,” said narrator Ed Williams.
“Tragedies have a way of unifying us,” Herring said. But with the suffering came strength and pride, he said.
The ceremony was an important reminder, said John Cooney, adjutant for the Beirut Memorial Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
“So many people have forgotten,” he said. “We have to remember. We can’t forget.”
Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8449.
9/11 Patriot Day 2007 video
Remembrance of September 11, 2001.
www.jdnews.com/video/patriot_51626___video.html/remembrance_september.html
Ellie
BY JENNIFER HLAD
September 11, 2007 - 3:36PM
THE DAILY NEWS
Six years from the day terrorists commandeered four commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania, Onslow County residents bowed their heads to remember the victims — the airline passengers, the people killed in the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the first responders and the military who have fallen in the war on terror.
The ceremony — the county’s first community-sponsored event in honor of Sept. 11, 2001 —“was long overdue,” said Jim Meyers a member of the Blue Knights law enforcement motorcycle club, who also worked as a counselor with first responders and families in New York after the attacks.
In the past, community members have spontaneously gathered at the World Trade Center beam next to the Beirut Memorial, but there have not been any large-scale organized events.
The Onslow Civic Affairs Committee decided that because the community has so many ties to the attacks and the war, it was time for an event, said Don Herring, chairman of the committee.
“It’s not just any one person’s event, it’s the whole community’s event,” he said.
During the ceremony, volunteers represented various people who died in the attacks: An 11-year-old on a trip sponsored by the National Geographic Society, a Boston University graduate on her way to start her new career, a woman whose body was discovered in the building wreckage on her first wedding anniversary, a man who planned to get married to his girlfriend of nine years, a civilian employee of the Army who read to her husband every night, an emergency services worker who was a sharpshooter trained in counterterrorism tactics, the founder and coach of the police department’s lacrosse team.
The ceremony included a moment of silence to remember those who died and those who are in harm’s way now because of the attacks. As the gathered veterans, civilians, first responders and service members stood silent, the police and fire sirens began to wail — a reminder of the emergency service workers, law enforcement officers and firefighters who ran into the burning buildings as others ran out.
The ceremony also honored service members who lost their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of the war on terror.
“To all these brave men and women, we say thank you, and God bless you,” said narrator Ed Williams.
“Tragedies have a way of unifying us,” Herring said. But with the suffering came strength and pride, he said.
The ceremony was an important reminder, said John Cooney, adjutant for the Beirut Memorial Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
“So many people have forgotten,” he said. “We have to remember. We can’t forget.”
Contact military reporter Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8449.
9/11 Patriot Day 2007 video
Remembrance of September 11, 2001.
www.jdnews.com/video/patriot_51626___video.html/remembrance_september.html
Ellie