Agawam first responders raise the American flag at the town’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Lederer
AGAWAM — On Sept. 11, 2001, Mayor Christopher Johnson remembers talking with a friend who was on the phone with someone at the World Trade Center. That person heard the explosion of the plane crash through the phone. The person on the other end didn’t make it out alive.
Later, he taught his usual afternoon class at a local college, which turned into a discussion of the morning’s events and what they meant. He said it was heart-wrenching to hear how one student knew someone at the World Trade Center. That someone did make it out alive, he said, due to the heroism of first responders.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Lederer
“Everyone needs to do their part, that every time you see a man or woman who wears that uniform, to always remember to say thank you and to never let your memories of 9/11 fade away,” he said at the town’s annual memorial ceremony this year.
Johnson was one of four speakers at the Sept. 11 ceremony, which took place at Agawam Fire Department Headquarters on Main Street, facing the memorial sculpture in the form of the Twin Towers.
The Rev. Harvey Hill of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Feeding Hills said he asked his 27-year-old son what Sept. 11 meant to him and his friends. His son said it stood for national unity.
“For him, more than any other single thing, it was a time when, at least for a while, people were Americans first and whatever else they might be second,” he said.
He said neither he nor his son could remember a comparable time in American history.
“I have come to think of this day as a time to celebrate the national unity that we experienced, that we shared in 2001, and commit ourselves once again to the ideal of one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all,” he said. “The fact that we are so divided as a nation right now makes celebrations like this one more important than ever.”
He also said first responders embody that spirit of unity, responding with compassion and self-sacrifice no matter who they are helping.
Fire Chief Alan Sirois called on attendees to live their lives with the spirit of service and self-sacrifice, like those who responded to the terrorist attacks.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Lederer
“We honor them and all the victims of 9/11, not just in ceremonies, but in how we choose to live our lives: helping our neighbors, standing up for what is just, and working together despite our differences,” he said.
He also asked listeners to pass on their stories to the younger generation, those who only learn about the attacks as history.
“It is our duty as those who remember to ensure the lessons of 9/11 are never lost,” he said. “We must pass on the stories of bravery, firefighters who ran towards danger, law enforcement officers who protected others at great personal risk and the civilians who stepped up in ways who never imagined they could.”
Last to speak was the Rev. Bill Hamilton, the Fire Department chaplain. He said that on Sept. 11, 2001, he was on a retreat with priests from the Diocese of Springfield. In the middle of Mass, he said someone walked into their chapel and told them a plane hit a tower in New York. They thought it was an accident. When they saw a second plane hit the World Trade Center on TV, they knew it wasn’t an accident.
He said the most important thing he could say was “never forget.”
“The legacy of that day calls on us to cherish life, embrace peace and commit ourselves to building a world defined not by fear or hatred, but by love and understanding,” he said.
At the ceremony, town first responders raised the American flag and led attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance. As well, the Fire Department struck “the four fives,” a customary New York bell salute to fallen firefighters. This was followed by the recital of the Firefighter’s Prayer.
