Students participate in Patriot’s Day ceremony
Bradford Heights Elementary School students participated in a flag raising ceremony on Tuesday to remember the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks 17 years ago.
“We gather this morning, on Patriots Day, to remember the countless military servicemen and women and first responders who have dedicated their lives in service to our nation,” Bradford Heights Principal Andrew Hoffert said.
Hoffert informed the students that in 2009, then President Barack Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy
Serve America Act which recognizes Sept. 11 as a National Day of Service and Remembrance, calling upon Americans to make an enduring commitment to serve their local community and their nation.
He told the first through fifth-grade students that as a sign of respect, all U.S. flags are ordered to be flown at half-staff that day. The Bradford Heights flag ceremony is typically held outdoors with students surrounding the flag pole, but it was moved indoors because of the rain. Girl Scout Avery Fuhr, who called the orders for the color guard, carried a flag along with Cub Scout Leo Boehnke.
Bradford Heights students, who are members of the local Cub Scout Packs and Girl Scouts, participated in the ceremony. Fuhr, a fifthgrade student, and Boehnke, a fourth-grade student, were assisted by: third-grade students Jude Rohner and Avery Tausch; and fourth-grade student Dominic Gilliotti.
After the presentation of the American flag and the playing of the National Anthem, the students observed a moment of silence before stating the pledge of allegiance.
Lionville Middle School students, also of the Downingtown Area School District, observed a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Tuesday to remember the 2,996 innocent victims lost on Sept. 11, 2001. That marked the exact time that the first hijacked plane crashed into the North Tower.
Americans watched live TV news broadcasts in 2001 as airplanes hijacked by al-Qaeda crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The passengers aboard Flight 93 prevented the terrorists from hitting their target and that plane crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It was the deadliest foreign attack on U.S. soil.
Lionville Principal Jonathan Ross noted that the students and staff pause each year on this date at that time to honor the memory of those who died. Ross asked that the “future generations never forget the importance of this day.”