1 • Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 - The Elmhurst Independent
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VOL. 17 • NO. 39
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THURSDAY, SEPT. 19, 2019
City gathers to commemorate the events of 9/11 By Dee Longfellow
FOR THE ELMHURST INDEPENDENT
DEE LONGFELLOW PHOTOS Elmhurst Independent
Elmhurst’s own first-responders, its local firefighters, take part in the City’s 9/11 Ceremony of Remembrance to salute the first responders who gave their lives trying to save others on Sept. 11, 2001. More photos inside this issue.
site still burned. They stayed in the face of danger including toxic dust. “Just this past summer, the 200th fireman lost his life from 9/11-caused illnesses,” she said. “Breathing in the air he breathed—to keep us safe.” The organization True Patriots Care put up a field of 343 flags in
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Police Reports...........6 Sports ��������������� 22-27 Viewpoint ����������������8 Classifieds..........20-21
the field next to the south fire station, one for each of the first responders who gave their life to save others on that day. True Patriots Care has installed flag fields in Elmhurst before for Memorial Day and other patriotic holidays. Chief Freeman talked about the
bell signals used at every fire station across the nation. He said that five bells sounded four times in row is the salute given when a firefighter loses his or her life in the line of duty. “Those who were back at their fire stations had to listen to those bells sound all day and night,” he said.
“They heard those bells ring 342 more times.” Editor’s note: The ceremony will be broadcast as an upcoming episode of Elmhurst Our Kind of Town at ElmhurstTV.com. The Independent will publish the schedule when it is available.
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At 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, about 100 residents, officials and dignitaries joined members of the Elmhurst Fire and Police Departments at the south Fire Station #2 on York Street to salute first-responders and commemorate those who lost their lives as a result of the events of 9/11/01. Fire Chief Thomas Freeman led the program, which included comments from Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley, State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, Elmhurst Police Sgt. Steve Mandat and William Shanklin, representing the American Legion THB Post 187. Before Shanklin’s remarks, Chief Freeman noted that the military are the original first-responders for our nation. The ceremony included John Raschke on the bagpipes. The Benediction was delivered by Father Andrew Georganas of the Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios of Elmhurst. Mazzochi, who is an Elmhurst resident, talked about how the terrorists behind the attacks were attempting to assault “America’s so-called elites.” “They thought it meant America must be weak,” she said. “But America wasn’t built for a warlord, a king or a so-called elite. It was created by and for three powerful words: We the people. “On this day of memory, let’s remember how ‘We the People,’ ordinary people, responded to an attack on our nation. … On the ground in New York, the fire department first responders were our front-line soldiers. They were going in, going up to serve, to protect—343 of them never made it back.” Mazzochi talked about how even after Sept. 11, firefighters continued to work as the World Trade Center
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