The format for ceremonies commemorating the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by terrorists flying captured airplanes is similar from year to year. A wreath is laid at the Tomb of the Unknown, a bell is rung in honor of the first responders and other volunteers who died saving citizens in the targeted buildings, a firing squad fires a salute, local officials speak and a bugler plays “Taps.”
Last week’s September 11 memorial, “A salute to uniformed public servants,” in Saugerties opened and closed with prayers from Deacon Hank Smith of Saint Mary of the Snow/Saint Joseph Church. Supervisor Fred Costello was the main speaker. “First responders from police services, fire services and EMS services ran into the dust, the fire, the horror and the tragedy to rescue fellow Americans, people at work who might have been in need,” he said. “The reason for the ceremony is to remember the more than 400 people who died while trying to save the people trapped inside the World Trade Center after the attack. These first responders died “not because they were in the buildings that fell, not because they were in the Pentagon when it was hit, not because they were on the planes. They were victims of their courage, They were victims of the lesson they leave with us — to look out for one another, to protect what we believe in as a nation, to be American and be proud of it and to share that with the rest of the world.”
Costello referred to the doubts that many in the rest of the world may have felt about whether the United States could fully recover from the damage to its spirit. “But we came back; we came back stronger, we came back with courage and it’s important to be here, to remember the sacrifice that folks made that day on our behalf. We need to tell our story and tell people where we were, just as we remember the sacrifices in other tragic events that our country faced.”
The attack brought us closer to each other, Costello said. “We had one frame of reference, one love of nation, one love of one another and that was a lesson we should not forget either.”
In conclusion, Costello said we need to remember the emotions of that day and what we learned and bring it into the future and share it with folks that weren’t even alive when that happened.”
The ringing of a ceremonial bell, a firing squad tribute and a rendition of “Taps” and “Amazing Grace” followed.
In his closing benediction, Deacon Smith told people, “Whatever your heart feels at this moment, know that the love of God will help you with your life, will help all people with their lives.”
He asked that the people think of “all the people who gave their lives for us, all the firemen, all the police and all the responders. Think about what they did; they didn’t wait, they did it now.”
Smith ended by encouraging the assembled citizens to “celebrate life, make love come alive in your life, celebrate all of our lives and all the lives of people who make our world better than good.”
As the ceremony came to a close, master of ceremonies village board trustee Brian Martin thanked the fire departments that came out, the public, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion “for all their support today.” Martin invited participants to stay and reminisce on the meaning of the day.
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