Manchester Continues Its Tradition of 9/11 Ceremonies

MANCHESTER, CT — Manchester officials Monday conducted their annual ceremony to honor those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks. The memorial service took place at the firefighters memorial garden at Manchester Fire Station No. 5 on Tolland Turnpike.

With a piece of the World Trade Center in the foreground, Manchester Fire Chief Dan French said the ceremony takes place each year because it is "indisputable" that attacks are the most "indelible" memory for many generations.

Manchester Mayor Jay Moran agreed.

"Everyone remembers where he or she was that day," Moran said. "And the family members who lost people have to get up every morning on Sept. 11 and relive what happened. We can never forget."

In his invocation, fire department chaplain Seth Johnson said the ceremony is designed "not to forget, but to remember" the effects the day has had on folks through the years.

Retired firefighter "Hatch" O'Dell, who helped dedicate the memorial garden in 2002 and continues to care for it, tolled the bell for the fallen.

French said there is a feeling among firefighters that "the farther away the (9/11) events get, the more divided people seem to have become."

He then called upon community members to rally.

"The events that followed 9/11 are an example of what America should look like," he said.

The memorial garden features a piece of the World Trade Center and a memorial to 9/11 that includes the bell, but monuments to other firefighters who gave the last full measure of devotion. The trade center piece is a 4,800 pound steel column from the North Tower's east exterior wall near the ground floor plaza area and was dedicated on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.