WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 12, 2007 Last modified:
COLOR GUARD: Bullhead City Fire Department's Color Guard honoring Patriot Day at a ceremony held at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Tuesday morning. Contributed

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:39 AM PDT

Hundreds watch Patriot Day images at Avi

By ALICE POPOVICI/The Daily News

LAUGHLIN - Nearly 300 people gathered Tuesday evening in the Avi Resort & Casino convention center watched in silence as a sequence of images captured Sept. 11, 2001 played on the overhead screen.

A message at the end of the program dedicated the Patriot Day remembrance service to the heroes of 9/11 and to those who continue to risk their lives in service to the country.

It was followed by a round of applause.

Every anniversary of the date serves as a reminder, said kDee Ignatin, media manager at the casino.

“It's a day for us to remind ourselves to remain vigilant, to watch for the signs ... to pay attention to what's going on around us.”

During a speech delivered at the beginning of the program, Ignatin quoted excerpts from a recent New York Times article she said she found troubling because it questioned the necessity for remembrance ceremonies held every year.

Ignatin said she does not attend yearly memorial services in order to mourn, but to remember the reasons behind the attacks.

It's also a day to remember people - the victims of the attacks, those currently serving overseas and those killed in the line of action as well as police, firefighters and others who ensure our day-to-day safety, according to keynote speaker Maj. Shannon Geaney of the U.S. Marine Corps.

Geaney, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, recalled the time she spent caring for wounded Marines in military hospitals in Spain and Germany as her slide presentation offered the audience a glimpse into the realities of war.

Her job consisted of reporting on the condition of the injured and their prognosis, making sure they were comfortable, making travel arrangements and communicating with concerned family members, among many other responsibilities.

She couldn't have imagined a more fulfilling position.

“The (idea) of having my chief responsibility to take care of Marines is a leadership gift that you get once in a lifetime,” she said in her speech.

While running through photographs taken at the hospitals, Geaney shared with the audience the stories of two Marines whose heroism she admires, Cpl. O.J. Santa Maria and Cpl. Brent Riley Phillips.

But there are many others.

About 250,000 servicemen and women are serving overseas at any given time, she said, and it's important to remember and honor them.

“That's a lot of Americans overseas and that's a lot of families worrying about them back here.”

Ellie