Hanover County honored the first responders who died on September 11, 2001 with a remembrance ceremony held today in front of the historic Hanover Courthouse.
“Today we honor the courage of those who put themselves in harm’s way to save people they never knew,” said County Administrator John A. Budesky in his welcoming remarks. “Twenty-one years ago may seem like a long time but for the families who lost a piece of their heart that tragic day, for too many I imagine it still seems like just yesterday…No words we offer, or actions we take, can ever take away the pain of their absence.”
“I know that on Sunday many of us will replay that awful day in our minds,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Angela Kelly-Wiecek. “But as I have said before, I ask you to recall what came after September 11th…The unity, the decency and love we had for one another in the days and weeks that followed.”
Also making remarks were Steve Trivett, Mayor of the Town of Ashland; Jethro H. Piland III, Chief of Hanover Fire/EMS; Col. David R. Hines, Sheriff; and A. Troy Aronhalt, Chief of the Ashland Police Department.
Representatives of the Sheriff’s Office, Fire/EMS and Emergency Communications read the names of Public Safety Lives lost that tragic day. Cheryl Buchanan, Director of Hanover Emergency Communications, introduced the ringing of the bell, a tradition in the Fire Service to call upon personnel or honor lives lost saving others.
Rebekah Turner, Hanover Junior Idol, sang the National Anthem.
Hanover County holds this 9/11 remembrance ceremony annually.