An editorial from The Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Every year on Sept. 11, the names of nearly 3,000 people are read during a memorial service in New York. Each name represents a parent, spouse, sibling or friend who was killed during the terrorist attacks 13 years ago today.
Similar services take place in Washington, D.C., and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the other two sites where innocent people were killed by terrorists in what became the deadliest attack on U.S. soil since the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Each year on the anniversary of that dark September day in 2001, moments of silence are observed across the country, marking the times the planes struck their intended targets.
Memorial services in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania aren’t the only ones happening today. There will be events held in communities across the nation to not only pay respect to emergency responders who have died in the line of duty, but to honor the individuals who continue to serve.
First responders will be honored in Fairmont today during the Patriot Day Celebration at Veterans’ Square.
It’s a fitting time for the event, since today is Patriot Day, a day when citizens and state and local governments across the country will participate in programs and activities appropriate to the holiday and atmosphere of remembrance. Although Patriot Day is not a federal holiday, it’s one that is important to our history as a nation.
Today is the day we attend events or memorial services in honor of the men and women who protect us.
It’s the day we observe a moment of silence in honor of the individuals who died innocently during those horrific attacks 13 years ago.
It’s the day we thank the men and women who continue to serve.
As Bo Sellers, director of workforce and community engagement at Pierpont Community & Technical College, which is hosting today’s Patriot Day Celebration, pointed out, it’s important to honor first responders for everything they do…
