Memorial services have been held every year since September 11, 2001. This year, marking 25 years since that fateful event, the Town of Pembroke held a memorial to remember the victims of these attacks, and to honor the brave men and women who gave their lives trying to save others.
The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York, the attack on the Pentagon, and the plane brought down in Shanksville, PA., make up a day that no American will ever forget. Nearly three thousand individuals died that day in the worst attack on American soil in the history of the country. Included in that number are 411 NYC first responders: 343 firefighters from the FDNY, thirty-seven police from the Port Authority Police, twenty-three officers from the NYC Police, and eight paramedics from various agencies. Even more have died since then from health issues directly related to their work at Ground Zero as they tried to help the country recover.
The Pembroke Community Service Department organized this day of remembrance, placing 411 flags on the Town Green in Pembroke, representing those first responders who died on 9/11. Ladder Truck One displayed a large American flag from its extension.
The program was introduced by Lance Kennedy, Recreation Director, Police Chief Wendy Lapierre gave opening remarks, which were followed by the bell ringing in a sequence of four sets of five bells to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The American flag was lowered to half mast, and everyone was invited to observe one minute of silence.
Select Board chair John Brown remembered where he was that day. "I was a congressional staffer in Washington D.C. Opening the office up, turning TVs on, and then we suddenly see on TV that the South Tower was hit, and we're like, what's going on?"
Next to speak was Pastor Frank Goodrich. "We're humbled by the bravery of the first responders...Remind us of the response of the American people on that day. Remind us of the way that the heart of this nation was revealed." Goodrich concluded with the Fireman's Prayer:
When I am called to duty, God, wherever flames may rage, give me strength to save some life whatever be its age. Help me embrace a little child before it’s too late, or save an older person from the horror of that fate. Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout and quickly and effectively to put the fire out. I want to fill my calling and to give the best in me to guard my every neighbor and protect his property. And if according to your will I have to lose my life, please bless, with your protecting hand, my family and my wife.
Fire Chief Jason Viveiros made closing remarks for the ceremony. "Twenty five years later, the bells still ring, the flags still fly and we are still answering these calls. May they rest in peace, may their families always know that we remember, and that we always have the courage to carry the torch they left behind. Let us never forget."
The program concluded with the bell ringing again in the 5-5-5-5 sequence, and then the flag was returned to full mast.
After the event, Pembroke resident Orlando Cavallo remembered his time as a pilot for American Airlines. "Eleven days prior (to 9/11), I was having dinner with Madeline Amy Sweeney in San Diego. She was the flight attendant who made the phone call to her supervisor when they were flying low, and she was relaying the information to the supervisor just before....". Cavallo continued, "I heard Barbara Bowen, another flight attendant on TV. She traded flights with Amy, so Amy Sweeney went on the flight, and Barbara Bowen is alive today." "I knew all the flight attendants, as I had flown with them all. Betty Ong, Sarah Low, Jeff Collman, Karen Martin, Diana Arestegui, Diane Snyder, Kathleen Nicosia, Jean Roger."
We will never forget.
