Firefighters honor 9-11's fallen
CRANBERRY TWP — Seventeen years after the attacks of 9-11, area fire departments are carrying on the tradition of marking the day for reflection and remembrance.
Both the Harmony and Cranberry volunteer fire departments each raised flags Tuesday morning in memory of the attacks of 9-11 and of those who lost their lives that day.
Volunteers met before sunrise to prepare the trucks and flags.
“We set it up every year, from sunrise to sunset,” said David Gallagher, chief of Cranberry Fire and Emergency Services. “It's important that nobody forgets.”
Once the 20- by 30-foot flag was up, members stood for “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the massive flag waved over Route 19.
“It's a day of remembrance. It's a day to reflect and take time,” said David Mack, Cranberry fire chief. “I bet you if you go to each person here and ask them where they were that day, they could tell you verbatim what they were doing and where they were at.”
He emphasized the importance of not losing sight of that history.
“For the fire department obviously, that aspect is to remember all those who were honorably serving when they lost a life that day,” Gallagher said. “And that's why you can never forget, because that's what these folks do: they go out every day and you just never know.”
Taps was played at the station throughout the day.
Meanwhile, a few miles away, Harmony Fire District members met at Seneca Valley High School to raise a flag of their own.
“You gotta remember. It's a big piece of history,” said Scott Garing, Harmony District fire chief. “Some people go on with their daily lives and forget about it. There's also kids in school that don't remember the events because they were too young then.”The flag could be seen from across campus on Seneca School Road from morning to 3 p.m.At Mars High School, students and staff came together to build a memorial as part of the Young America Foundation's 9-11: Never Forget Project.As part of the display, 2,977 flags were placed in the ground along Route 228 in front of the school — one for each person who died in the Sept. 11 attacks. According to Dayle Ferguson, Mars School Board president, the tradition began in 2010 when the Thomas family put up the memorial for the first time.Once the family's three sons graduated from the school, Ferguson's family — who live across the street from the Thomas family — took over. She said volunteers include students, members of the boys and girls soccer teams and members of the soccer booster club.Ferguson added while the team of volunteers was putting up the display Monday, they received support in the form of horn honks and folks stopping along Route 228 to view the memorial and express thanks for the tribute.<em>Cranberry Bureau Chief J.W. Johnson Jr. contributed to this report.</em>
