The Warrensburg Volunteer Fire Company held its annual 9/11 memorial Saturday evening at the Floyd Bennet Memorial Bandstand in the center of town. The company was joined by nine other fire departments in the region, members of the local VFW Post, state representatives and local officials to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Residents young and old lined the street, many holding flags. The Warrensburg Jr./Sr. High School Band, led by band director Denise Foster, performed. Galloway Gaelic Pipes & Drums led a procession from the firehouse to the bandstand passing under two American flags fluttering from fire truck towers. Represented fire companies included Horicon, Schroon Lake, North Creek, Bolton, Thurman, Johnsburg, Lake George, Chestertown and Pottersville.
“After the tragedy of the terrorist attacks of 9/11,” says State Assemblymember Matt Simpson, “a sense of unity spread throughout our entire country. American flags were hung on homes and businesses. We came together to support those in our communities and beyond. The American spirit of resilience was on full display. We must always remember that resilience and never stop taking care of our friends, neighbors and communities.”
State Senator Dan Stec noted that 9/11 changed America, and the members of the Jr./Sr. High School Band assembled at the ceremony had not yet been born when the nation was attacked. They did not know a pre-9/11 world. He said he believes we should pass lessons learned from that time on to generations going forward.
“I think we need to try to channel some of what we saw and went through,” says Stec, “… we know how we came together as a country and pulled through — got ourselves back up, dusted ourselves off, moved forward, raised families, went back to work, took care of our loved ones, took care of our homes. We did that 20 years ago. We can channel some of that now, put that energy, knowledge and experience to use to help the kids today and everyone that is struggling with the pandemic and all the challenges that we are dealing with.”
Warrensburg Fire Chief Jason Hull spoke about the significance of 9/11 to first responders and why they pledge to never forget. Among the 2,977 killed that day, Hull says, were 343 firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, 55 military personnel, and eight emergency medical technician paramedics, “They never returned home from their jobs that day.” He recounted the events of 20 years ago from 8:46 a.m. when a Boeing 767 struck the North Tower through 10:28 a.m. when the North Tower fell. “These are the 102 minutes that changed our world forever in history,” says Hull. “This is why we come together to pay tribute to our fallen every year…”
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