This year marks the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America that changed the nation forever, and Pembroke Elementary School was host to a special memorial ceremony Friday morning.
Pembroke Elementary is now part of the Freedom Flag Foundation’s National Freedom Flag and World Trade Center Steel Education Program, which aims to educate the next generation about 9/11 using the Freedom Flag and World Trade Center Steel artifacts from the 92nd and 95th floor the of Tower One. Pembroke Principal Dana Gary says students have been have special studies and projects dedicated to remembering those who died that day and after, and she feels it is their duty to make sure the younger generations never forget.
The school gets a specially designed memorial flag that was raised, along with the American Flag, to half-staff Friday. Representative Myron Dossett of Pembroke spoke directly to the sixth graders who were present, saying many of their parents were likely about their age when the attacks occurred. He says that even in bad times, there are people who come together and rise up to do what’s right.
Educator Brette Walsh reminded her students how lucky they are to live in a free country, and that those freedoms often had a heavy price.
The 101st Airborne Division Brass Band was on site for the ceremony, and a moment of silence was held remembering the citizens, first responders, military service members who lost their lives at the result of that day 20 years ago—along with the loved ones who had to go on without them.
