Photo By Spc. Caitlinn Belcher | Richard Flynn, the captain of the Hampden Township Volunteer Fire Department, strikes...... read more read more
Story by Pfc. Caitlinn Belcher
ENOLA, Pa. – The Hampden Township Veterans Recognition Committee held a memorial service on Sept. 11, 2021, at the Hampden Township Memorial Park in Enola, Pennsylvania. The memorial service, held on the 20th anniversary of the 2001 attacks, took place to pay respect and honor first responders – firefighters, police officers, public works, military members and civilians – for their service and sacrifice on Sept. 11, 2001.
Gary Coburn, a member of the committee who hosted the event, welcomed the small crowd to the memorial service and gave a recap of events that happened 20 years ago on this day. He then introduced Father Dijo Thomas, from Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, Marysville, Pennsylvania. As Thomas gave the invocation, people stood and bowed their heads in prayer. Four Marines posted the colors following the invocation. The Marines are members of Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Regiment in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
“Never forget,” retired U.S. Army Col. Frank Hancock, the keynote speaker for the service, said. “Make sure your kids and your grandkids don't forget that 2,977 Americans died in under two hours. Never let that be forgotten.”
To pay respects to the first responders involved in the attacks, the Hampden Township Volunteer Fire Company performed a ceremonial “striking the four fives.” The captain of the fire department struck the bell a total of twenty times, in four sets of five tolls with a pause in between. The four sets of five bell tolls signals members who died in the line of service. During a firefighter's duty, the bell tolls at the beginning of a shift, also whenever a fire requires members of a unit to actions, and again when members of a unit return to their station.
Richard Flynn, the captain of the Hampden Township Volunteer Fire Department, said it is not only important to never forget, but it is also important to remember.
“People ask, 'Where were you when that occurred?'” Flynn said. “I think it's also important to remember what happened after, when our country came together. We firefighters went out and had our boots and collected money for the firefighters' families, and you couldn't even buy an American flag because everyone was flying them. I wish we could get back to that.”
The memorial service also included a helicopter flyover provided by the Liberty War Bird Association, and the singing of the national anthem and “America the Beautiful.” The service concluded with a final benediction and the retiring of the colors.
| Date Taken: | 09.12.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 09.12.2021 14:11 |
| Story ID: | 405029 |
| Location: | ENOLA, PA, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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