GRAVETTE -- Members of the Gravette and Maysville fire departments and officers from the Gravette police department gathered in the parking lot at the Harp's grocery store in Gravette Monday morning, Sept. 11, for their annual 9/11 memorial observance.
This is the fifth year the ceremony has been held to honor the memory of those firefighters and first responders who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
David Orr, chief of the Gravette Fire Department, welcomed visitors to the observance and gave a brief recap of events on the morning of the tragic attacks. He noted that almost 3,000 lives, including those of 343 first responders, were lost in the day's events.
Following Orr's remarks, the firefighters and police officers stood at attention and saluted as the lights flashed on their fire trucks and emergency vehicles arrayed on the south side of the parking lot. The lights began flashing at 8:59 a.m., the local time the first Trade Center tower fell, and flashed for 3 minutes and 43 seconds to honor those emergency personnel who lost their lives.
A recording of a funeral song performed on bagpipes was played, and paramedic Gairy Osburn concluded the ceremony with a prayer.
A firemen's bell was rung at the end of the service. The ringing recalls when a bell was rung to call firemen out for an alarm and rung again when the alarm had ended.
Susan Holland/Westside Eagle Observer
Members of the Gravette and Maysville fire departments and officers from the Gravette Police Department line up, and Gravette fire chief David Orr stands at the microphone in readiness for the departments' annual 9/11 memorial observance Monday morning, Sept. 11, in Harp's parking lot. The ceremony is held in remembrance of those firefighters and other emergency personnel who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Susan Holland/Westside Eagle Observer
Gravette fire chief David Orr welcomes those in attendance at the department's 9/11 memorial observance Monday morning, Sept. 11. Orr gave a brief recap of events the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists crashed aircraft into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, resulting in the loss of almost 3,000 lives. Behind Orr is paramedic Gairy Osburn, who offered prayer at the service.