Valley remembers 9/11, honors first responders
By ERIC SEIVERLING
eseiverling@yourmvi.com
Valley residents young and old gathered at the front steps of Monongahela’s First United Methodist Church Friday evening, but it wasn’t for a typical service.
The crowd, along with local police, firefighters and elected officials, was there to pay tribute to first responders and remember the thousands of people who lost their lives 19 years ago during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The event was the first Sept. 11 tribute held at the church and featured comments and prayers from Rev. Jude Urso and the Rev. Kevin Dominik, the Pledge of Allegiance from Boy Scout packs 1446 and 1448, singing by Heather Latorre and Monongahela Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Aaron Benny, “Taps” performed by Lee Hemmings of the Mon Valley Honor Guard.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, offered her perspective on the solemn occasion.
“There are 18-year-olds who don’t know what we’re talking about,” Bartolotta told the crowd, comparing the death toll of Sept. 11 to the population of Monongahela. “Think about nobody on the streets here and alleys being empty. That’s terrifying. That’s the numbers we’re talking about.
“But the first responders dropped everything to run into the flames. It’s time for all of us to remember what we felt that day. (Being a first responder) is a thankless job. Today, as we should every single day, we say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Urso, a volunteer with the Monongahela Fire Department, said Friday’s event was a chance to bring the community together.
“We need to do this,” he said before addressing the crowd. “We had total support from local police and firefighers. They thought it was a good community event.”
Urso also said people still talk about the attacks 19 years ago, which saw hijacked airplanes crash into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and a field in Shanksville, Pa.
“People still ask ‘Why did that happen?’ and ‘Why would people do that?’” Urso said.
For those in attendance, the memories of Sept. 11 are still fresh.
“I was working as a truck driver, and as soon as I heard the news I turned my truck around and went home,” the 85-year-old Hemmings recalled. “I watched the news all day and thought to myself, ‘We have to get out of this mess.’
“I’m all for having a tribute like this. I didn’t have to think about it when they asked me to perform. It’s automatic for me.”
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