A special morning on this 9/11 memorial

MauiRob

MauiRob

Joined
Nov 15, 2000
Messages
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I went out early this a.m. to take some nature photos. But my heart just wasn't in it. Too much on my mind about 9/11/01. On my way back home I passed a firehouse in a neighboring town and noticed 30 or so firefighters in dress uniforms lined up in front of the flag pole. So I stopped.

I asked one of the guys what was going on and he said it was a memorial tribute to the firefighters and others who died on 9/11/01. So I asked him if they would like me to photograph the ceremony. He said that would be great and pointed me toward the chief who was happy to have someone photograph it as well.

I didn't post this to get any pats on the back. I posted it because I felt like sharing a really special event with you all. During the ceremony they read the names of the 343 firefighters who died at the WTC, and had a minute of silence at the exact time that each tower fell. It was a very moving ceremony and many there had tears in their eyes. It felt good to do something for these guys who put their lives on the line every day to keep our family's and homes safe, even if it was something very small.

Here is the prayer read at the close of the ceremony by the firefighters and all assembled:

Firefighters Prayer

When I am called to duty, God,
wherever flames may rage.
give me strength to save some life,
whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child
before it is too late
or save an older person
from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert
and hear the weakest shout,
and quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling and
to give the best in me.
To help my many neighbors
and safeguard their property.

One day if I must give my life,
Protect with caring arm,
those loved ones I will leave behind
when I answer my last alarm.

Amen.

I will share some pics when I get them back if anyone would like to see them.
 
Originally posted by MauiRob
I went out early this a.m. to take some nature photos. But my heart just wasn't in it. Too much on my mind about 9/11/01. On my way back home I passed a firehouse in a neighboring town and noticed 30 or so firefighters in dress uniforms lined up in front of the flag pole. So I stopped.

I asked one of the guys what was going on and he said it was a memorial tribute to the firefighters and others who died on 9/11/01. So I asked him if they would like me to photograph the ceremony. He said that would be great and pointed me toward the chief who was happy to have someone photograph it as well.

I didn't post this to get any pats on the back. I posted it because I felt like sharing a really special event with you all. During the ceremony they read the names of the 343 firefighters who died at the WTC, and had a minute of silence at the exact time that each tower fell. It was a very moving ceremony and many there had tears in their eyes. It felt good to do something for these guys who put their lives on the line every day to keep our family's and homes safe, even if it was something very small.

Here is the prayer read at the close of the ceremony by the firefighters and all assembled:

Firefighters Prayer

When I am called to duty, God,
wherever flames may rage.
give me strength to save some life,
whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child
before it is too late
or save an older person
from the horror of that fate.

Enable me to be alert
and hear the weakest shout,
and quickly and efficiently
to put the fire out.

I want to fill my calling and
to give the best in me.
To help my many neighbors
and safeguard their property.

One day if I must give my life,
Protect with caring arm,
those loved ones I will leave behind
when I answer my last alarm.

Amen.

I will share some pics when I get them back if anyone would like to see them.
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Rob, thank you for sharing. I would love to see the pictures.
 
Rob,

It was an intersting day for me as well. ... as a former firefighter, and a news photographer. I carried that prayer around in my wallet for six years. ...

Add me to the list of folks who want to see your shots. I was lucky and got to shoot cute kids eating watermelon, having fun, and oblivious to the meaning behind today's gatherings. I'm not sure how I would have held up at the more serious memorials today.

Alan
 
And another--ringing the bell for the fallen(at the time of tower 1 collapse). 3 sets of five rings. Alan can tell you the significance of that I'm sure.

I forgot to mention that the town lost one of their own at the Pentagon. A special service was held after this one.
 
Rob, thank you so much for posting those pictures. They send tingles down my spine and bring a tear to my eye every time I look at them.
 
Thanks.

I avoided watching the hype yesterday.

Your second photo, and the one of the hands moved me. When it comes from smaller town america it means something genuine that comes from the heart.

That makes it to me something way above and beyond the politicians coming out to take advantage of the stage and coverage provided by the talking heads of the media.

Sarge and his bunch are already putting their anatomy on the line. That's a given, and I expected no less.

But those pics from back here in the states brought the thing home for me. Thanks for the experience and the genuineness of it.

Forget the Feds, forget the State Capitols, look to the small towns, and as the song "Americana" put it:

"...Just off of the highways, out along the byways, America is still alive and well."
 
Rob, some of the firemen who were in WTC that fatal day were in Warsaw yesterday and witnessed in the ceremony of unveiling of a monument to the victims. It was a great honor for me to meet them. Now, call me baby if you want, but when I think of those brave men who went there to help people and died doing that, I just can't help but cry. Same applies to the passengers of the flight#93. Those men were real heroes and those who follow them are no less. That's why I'm so concerned about Sarge and his fellow soldiers, that's why I respect them so much. I just hope I'll be as brave when (or if) my time comes.
 
I'm glad you guys feel the way I do about the photos. They don't capture all of what the experience meant to me, but they come close. Rusty I know what you mean about the small town thing. It really moved me that these were my neighbors, but were no different than the fallen heroes of 9/11. Spending part of that day with some firefighters and other people who gathered to mourn and commemorate, really helped me express some of the grief and frustration I was feeling.

Rob, some of the firemen who were in WTC that fatal day were in Warsaw yesterday and witnessed in the ceremony of unveiling of a monument to the victims. It was a great honor for me to meet them. Now, call me baby if you want, but when I think of those brave men who went there to help people and died doing that, I just can't help but cry. Same applies to the passengers of the flight#93. Those men were real heroes and those who follow them are no less. That's why I'm so concerned about Sarge and his fellow soldiers, that's why I respect them so much. I just hope I'll be as brave when (or if) my time comes.
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That must have been an unforgetable experience Sharri! And I wouldn't dream of calling you a baby for that! I shed more than a few tears that day and this anniversary. Oddly enough not at the ceremony, but before, when they started reading the names of all the dead at the WTC. At first I was concentrationg on the nationalities of the names but as I drove the endless list started to overwhelm me, and the full weight of what had really happened that day hit me again, like it did the first time.
 
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