A community remembers

It was a day for remembrance as St. Tammany residents gathered Friday to honor those who died in the terrible tragedy that stunned the country eight years ago.

Despite the rainy weather, about 100 Slidell residents gathered in the Heritage Park pavilion for the Patriot Day Ceremony. The emphasis was on the firefighters, police officers, EMTs and military personnel who gave their lives trying to save regular citizens after terrorist-driven planes smashed into the New York City World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

Two ladder trucks from Fire District One sat on each side of Bayou Lane, their ladders extended and a large American flag hung over passing motorists and pedestrians during the ceremony.

FD1 Chief Larry Hess talked about the death of 343 firefighters in New York City that awful day.

“My 343 brothers who died on 9/11 were not brave, but they were committed to an ideal, committed to their country and fellow firefighters. They were just doing their duty,” Hess said.

Slidell’s Assistant Police Chief Jesse Simon said that Sept. 11 will be a day, “forever etched into our minds and will affect every American for years to come.”

He said the best way to honor the 3,000 people who died that day was to show our strength as a country.

“The terrorists briefly brought us to our knees to pray, and then we stood up to show our strength,” Simon told the crowd.

After the speeches, 10 white doves were released into the overcast skies, and the crowd braved the light rain to visit the 9/11 Memorial at the edge of Heritage Park. There was silence as people walked past the centerpiece of the memorial, a piece of the World Trade Center that was procured by Slidell resident Rod Nunez.

As the crowd gathered under the portico at the Justice Center in Covington, first responders, Boy Scouts, National Guardsmen, members of the American Legion and a group of third-graders from Woodlake Elementary joined to pay tribute to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.

In his opening invocation, Bishop Chopin Cusachs of American Legion Post 16 quoted Rudyard Kipling, “lest we forget.”

Covington Mayor Candace Watkins issued a proclamation stating that the ceremony will be held each Sept. 11 to promote peace and goodwill, demonstrate America’s resolve and perseverance to win the war on terrorism, advance responsible citizenship, encourage patriotism and remember those innocent victims as heroes one and all. The ceremony concluded with the laying of wreaths as Boy Scout Ryan McCue, a sophomore at Mandeville High School, played taps accompanied by his father, Scout Master Reggie McCue.