MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The 23rd Civil Engineer Squadron fire department hosted a 20-year anniversary 9/11 memorial ceremony at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, Sept. 11, 2021.
Fire protection professionals held the annual ceremony to honor the lives lost on September 11, 2001, when the U.S. faced the largest terrorist attack in history.
On that day, 19 terrorists hijacked four jets, two of which were flown into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center resulting in the deaths of 343 firefighters, 23 New York City police officers and 2,977 total victims.
The ceremony served as a way to not only recognize lives lost on that fateful day, but to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving their nation since.
“We don’t want (9/11) to be something that ever fades,” said Staff Sgt. Chase Groh, 23rd CES fire department crew chief. “It should be at the forefront of our minds, so we (held) a ceremony to make sure we honor all of the service members, firefighters, police (officers) and everybody else who have passed away since then.”
During the ceremony, color guard members lowered the flag to half-staff and retired Lt. Col. Ken Block, who was on active duty and stationed at the Pentagon during the attack, gave a speech recounting his experiences, and a firefighter rang a bell to honor the fallen.
“Throughout most of history, the life of a firefighter is closely associated with the ringing of a bell,” Groh said. “The first five rings are to signal the call to duty. The second five rings are to signal duty is completed, and the last five rings are to signal that they have finally come home.”
Toward the end of the ceremony, Senior Airman Carson Lafferty, 23rd CES firefighter, recited the Firefighter’s Prayer.
“I want to fill my calling and give the best in me,” Lafferty said, “and if according to my fate I am to lose my life, please bless with your protecting hand the special people in my life.”