Veterans salute while a large American flag hovers over the ceremony.
Twenty-three years later, the heartbreaking image of a little boy who lost his father in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks remains fresh in the mind of Steve Burns.
Burns was the chief of the volunteer fire department in Springfield, Pa., at the time. After the attacks, his department served as the honor guard at the Staten Island funeral of a New York City firefighter killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center twin towers.
At the funeral, the firefighter’s young son said a final goodbye to his late father by saluting, in a moment sadly reminiscent of the way John F. Kennedy Jr. saluted his father’s coffin after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
“A bunch of big, tough macho firefighters, and there wasn’t a dry eye in that line,” Burns recalled of the emotional response of seeing the little boy’s farewell salute to his father.
Burns’ story was a poignant moment during Sea Isle City’s “Patriot Day” 9/11 remembrance ceremony Wednesday on the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attacks that left nearly 3,000 dead and shook the nation.
Steve Burns, service officer for Sea Isle's VFW Post 1963, stands in front of a fire truck dedicated to the victims of the 9/11 attacks.In keynote remarks, Sea Isle Mayor Leonard Desiderio called 9/11 “that terrible day in 2001” when hijacked planes were used for attacks in New York City, at the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C., and in Shanksville, Pa.
At the same time, he stressed that the country will “never forget” the 9/11 victims and their families.
“It is up to each of us to keep the memory of the 9/11 victims alive, as well as their families,” he told the crowd that gathered in Veterans Park for the ceremony.
Desiderio noted that Americans felt a multitude of emotions after the attacks, including “feelings of fear, anger and dread – an overwhelming sense of sadness for those who died.”
But he also emphasized that the nation made a commitment to remain vigilant and to keep safe so that there would never again be a 9/11-style attack.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio delivers keynote remarks at the ceremony.Desiderio also paid tribute to the bravery of the firefighters, police officers and other first responders who rushed to the tragic scenes – with many of them losing their lives.
Burns, who is now 81, said that his fire department in Springfield, Pa., was called to serve as honor guard at the firefighter’s funeral in Staten Island because so many of New York City’s firefighters had been killed on 9/11 – 343 in all – that there weren’t enough of them left to fulfill the role of honor guards at all of the funerals.
Burns now lives in Sea Isle City and serves as the service officer for VFW Post 1963. During his remarks at the ceremony, he noted that the gorgeous sunny weather on Wednesday was similar to the “nice, crisp beautiful day” on Sept. 11, 2001.
In addition to words of remembrance, the ceremony also included patriotic songs, prayers and the laying of memorial wreaths decorated in red, white and blue flowers and bows. A large American flag hovered over the ceremony at Veterans Park while hanging from the fully extended ladder arm of a Sea Isle fire truck.
Memorial wreaths frame the monument at Veterans Park.While delivering the invocation, Pastor Melissa Doyle-Waid, of Sea Isle’s United Methodist Church, recalled how the nation felt so vulnerable following the attacks.
Doyle-Waid also said the nation should always remember “our resilience and our spirit” while recovering from the attacks and to always be thankful for those “who gave so much on that day in September.”
Desiderio closed the ceremony by urging the crowd, “We must remember. We can never forget what happened 23 years ago.”
The crowd listens to the speakers.
Sea Isle Fire Department and Medical Division Chief Bruce Knoll, left, and VFW Post 1963 trustee Rich Lomax place one of the memorial wreaths.
The honor guard holds the flags.
Veterans salute and stand at attention during the playing of the national anthem.
