VERO BEACH — A small crowd gathered at the Veterans Memorial Island Sanctuary Sunday morning for the first of three Vero Beach 9/11 Memorial Observance Ceremonies, marking the 10th anniversary of that tragic day.
The morning observance, as well as the two scheduled for later in the day at Riverside Theatre, were sponsored by the Vero Beach Firefighters Association, and were well represented by all the other branches of public safety in Indian River County.
Following musical selections by the United States Navy Band Southeast, Vero Beach Fire Department Capt. Joe Earman made note of the heartbreaking attacks on the World Trade Center buildings, the Pentagon and of the plane which crashed in Pennsylvania.
In his invocation, Rev. Lew Gwyn noted that we should always remember that day and all those who died.
“It is our responsibility to remember, even when it’s painful,” said Gwyn. “Victim number 0001 was a chaplain of the New York City Fire Department; Father Mychal Judge. He died for us in the service of his fellow firemen.”
Judge died in in the North Tower lobby as he prayed with victims and rescuers and was hit by debris from the collapse of the South Tower. Designated as the first official victim of the attacks, Judge will be forever memorialized in an iconic photograph, taken as his body was carried out of the building.
The son of a 25-year firefighter, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Mike Welz spoke about paying tribute to the bravery and sacrifice of rescue workers, and asked for a moment of silence for all those lost.
Before a tolling of four bells to mark the four attacks, Earman spoke about the 2,974 fatalities of the day; the youngest a 2-year-old girl, and the oldest an 85-year-old man.
“Since that day 10 years ago, it’s been a different world,” said Earman, before introducing Lt. Col. Tim Pfeifer of the Patrick Air Force Base Helicopter Rescue Wing. A Vero Beach resident, Pfeifer will be leaving shortly for his third deployment in Afghanistan.
“These are things we do so that others may live,” said Pfeifer of his Combat Search and Rescue Wing, describing his unit’s participation in the war on terror. He closed with a famous quote from Thomas Jefferson saying, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”
The Indian River County Public Safety Honor Guard, representing each of the area’s law enforcement and fire departments, presented memorial wreaths, accompanied by a rendition of Amazing Grace played by bag piper Michael Hyde.
This was the fourth 9/11 Observance at Memorial Island, and would be the third at Riverside Theatre. Earman remarked later that after 9/11 there had been a great deal of patriotism, but that as time went on people tended to forget.
“We had a lot of people ask us to do this,” said Earman. “We were honored to do it.”
