| It has been 12 years since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93, and the members of the Hartsville Fire Company continue to keep the memory of the victims alive with its annual ceremony at the fire station located on York Road.
Chief Chris McDonald welcomed family, friends and fellow firefighters to the memorial and ceremony. After brief opening remarks, the guests were asked to retrieve the 403 flags from the fire company's lawn and place them on the tables in the firehouse.
These flags represent the 343 members of the FDNY, 23 NYPD and 37 New York & New Jersey Port Authority officers killed that day. Two more flags were placed for local firefighters/HEROS that joined the military as a result of 9/11 and were killed in action.
After the flags were brought in, Chief McDonald introduced Mayor Paul Batchelor from Warminster, U.K. as a special guest speaker. The Mayor was filled with emotion as he spoke to the audience.
Guests were encouraged to take the podium and help read the names of all the emergency personnel that perished when the World Trade Center fell, including the names of local firefighter’s John Kulick and Tristan Smith.
Music was performed by Bill Monaghan including "America, the Beautiful".
Guest speaker Harry Magee, Retired Philadelphia firefighter and Curator of Philadelphia Fire Department's firefighter's museum expressed how September 11, 2001 impacted him. |
