September 11th Remembrance Ceremony

The United States of America suffered a severe blow when attacked on September 11th, 2001. Thousands of lives were lost, including many in public safety.

As the years go by we might forget the supreme sacrifice made by many, time after all does make us forget.

Whether individual fire, police or EMS organizations choose to have an annual remembrance is of course their decision. What we hope to do is to present a basic plan to do a simple remembrance ceremony each September 11th. It shows all the steps needed - before, during, and after.

We are not suggesting that the ceremony is the only one that is possible. Some organizations have remembrance ceremonies that are of a much larger scale. All we are trying to do is make it as easy for any organization, especially those who have stopped, or even never had a remembrance ceremony, to have one.

The links below list the tasks starting with June 11th (three months before September 11th) up to the day of the ceremony, and the days after. There is a link for contingencies (unable to find someone to play taps, find a bell to toll the four-fives, inclement weather), also a link that discusses military protocol (flag raising, military commands), one for background / historical information about the September 11th attacks.

We are anxious for your feedback. How can we make our ceremony better? What has your organization been doing? Please feel free to send me your comments, criticism, spelling/grammar corrections, etc. Thanks, Ira Hoffman ... ira@fire-police-ems.com

Related Material

The Actual Ceremony

June 11th - Three Months Before September 11th.

July 11th - Two Months Before September 11th.

August 11th - One Month Before September 11th.

September 4th - One Week Before September 11th.

September 10th - One Day Before September 11th.

September 11th - the day of the Ceremony.

September ?? - the follow-up meeting.

Getting the Message Out

Contingencies

Flag Protocol

Background / Historical Information

Thanks to all that helped

Links

Teacher Resources

World Trade Center Books

World Trade Center Videos