3 minute read
Remembering the Responders
By Brandon Klein
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many have experienced renewed appreciation for the sacrifices and contributions of first responders. The Grove City community will continue that appreciation for a different group of first responders as it commemorates the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
In Grove City for the last decade, the American Legion Paschall Post 164 and Veterans of Foreign War Post 8198 have held an annual prayer and remembrance service to commemorate the tragic events of 9/11 when hijackers took control of planes that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The attacks resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths including more than 400 firefighters, law enforcement officers and paramedics who responded to the emergency.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been that long,” says Jeff Shipley, the post’s commander.
Service & Monument
The post didn’t begin holding its annual service until about 10 years ago because of how sensitive the event was for so many Americans in the aftermath, Shipley adds.
“(But) we felt we should do something,” he says. “We wanted to remember all the people who were involved there.”
The post held the ceremonies at its own headquarters in the first few years until Jackson Township Fire Station 204 secured a piece of steel recovered from the ashes of the World Trade Center in New York City.
The initiative to secure a piece of the towers was led by former Jackson Township Fire Chief Rick Dawson, says Randy Little, the fire department’s current chief.
Dawson didn’t get far in his mission with the federal government but found success through the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. In 2013 he succeeded in finding a home in Grove City for a structural steel H-beam from the north tower.
The three-foot-tall and 125-pound beam is situated on a black granite base with engravings on one side to memorialize the lives lost in the terrorist attack and on another side for any township firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty, Little says.
Remembering Those Who Served
Honoring local military members killed in post-9/11 wars in the Middle East: Jesse M. Balthaser, sergeant,
Marine Corps, killed in action,
Afghanistan, Sept. 4, 2010 Eric J. Bernholtz, lance corporal, Marine Corps, killed in action, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2005 Shawn T. Hannon, master sergeant, Army, killed in action,
Afghanistan, April 4, 2012 Joseph W. Riley, specialist,
Army, killed in action, Afghanistan, Nov. 24, 2014 Nicholaus E. Zimmer, private first-class, Army, killed in action, Iraq, May 30, 2004 Joseph A. Cappocciama, sergeant, Army, died from complications of injuries serving in
Iraq, May 20, 2012
Jackson Township Fire Station 204 traditionally rings the bell during its annual 9/11 ceremony. Scores of people attend the annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony in Grove City.
“Our community is always safe and free because of those first responders and soldiers on a daily basis,” he says.
Remembering 2001 in 2021
The ceremony typically includes guest speakers, a 21gun salute, a lone trumpeter performing taps, a color guard and a ringing of the fire station bell for any of the station’s fallen firefighters. Details for the 2021 service had not been finalized at the time of publication.
The event often attracts up to 100 people including members of law enforcement and fire departments as well as other public officials. “It’s a nice ceremony,” Shipley says.
As time has passed, some might find it difficult to understand the full gravity of the event, especially children born just before or after the attacks, Little says. But it’s important, he adds, to remember the resolve, kindness and compassion shown on 9/11 by first responders to ordinary people.
“It’s the people who put their own wants and needs aside for the greatest good,” Little says. “That’s what makes America so great.”
Brandon Klein is the senior editor. Feedback welcome at bklein@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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