Moore County Marks Sept. 11 Anniversary
Local firefighters and law enforcement officers gathered Tuesday morning at the Southern Pines Fire and Rescue Department to pay tribute to the first responders who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Billed as “A Day to Remember,” the annual ceremony was canceled last year because of inclement weather. It returned to mark the 17th anniversary of 9/11.
More than 3,000 deaths are tied to the terror attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania. The toll includes 412 emergency workers who died in the burning rubble of the World Trade Center.
But Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron, in his opening remarks, urged the audience to “not only remember the victims that day.”
“Let’s also remember those extraordinary human beings that rose to the occasion,” Cameron said. “I am talking about ordinary citizens that were living ordinary lives that reacted with extraordinary heroism, when without warning and in an instant, they were thrust into life-and-death situations.”
Dozens of people attended the ceremony, which also included remarks from Southern Pines Police Chief Bob Temme, who was working in New York when the Twin Towers fell, and readings of 9/11-inspired poems. The names of North Carolina police officers and firefighters who have died since the 16th anniversary of the event were read aloud, with each name punctuated by the ringing tone of a bell.
“For all Americans, the words ‘nine-eleven’ will always evoke special meaning,” Cameron said. “A moment in our history when the world as we knew it changed forever.
“It’s fitting that on every September 11th, Americans such as us join together to honor the memory of more than 3,000 who died that day.”
After the ceremony, four firefighters from several departments carried American flags on a memorial walk through downtown Southern Pines.
The ceremony was among a handful of 9/11 observances held in the Sandhills. In Pinehurst, members of the Veteran Golfers Association held a free barbecue at the club’s headquarters on Magnolia Road. In Vass, first responders participated in a “remembrance service” at New Home Baptist Church.
Congressman Richard Hudson, who represents Moore County, said Tuesday it was “hard to believe 17 years have passed” since the terror attacks.
“As a nation, we will never forget the innocent lives lost in New York, at the Pentagon and on Flight 93,” Hudson said in a statement. “We will never forget the heroism of first responders, bystanders, and fellow citizens who made the ultimate sacrifice, and we continue to pray for their families.”