SALISBURY — Local fire, rescue, emergency and law enforcement personnel will pay homage to their fallen brothers and sisters during Salisbury’s 9/11 Tenth Anniversary Memorial Ceremony on Sunday.
Residents are invited to attend the morning service, which marks a decade since attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The service will be held at the Salisbury-Rowan Firefighters’ Memorial, located adjacent to Chestnut Hill Cemetery, 1400 South Main St.
Salisbury Fire Chief Bob Parnell asks that those attending assemble at the Firefighters’ Memorial by 9:20 a.m. A designated area will be provided for wheelchair accessibility.
At about 9:30 a.m., a bagpiper will play and the Rowan County Honor Guard will perform the presentation of colors.
Rowan County Rescue Squad members will lay a wreath at the memorial. Fire and rescue personnel who have died during the past year will be remembered during the service.
Speakers will include Parnell, Salisbury Mayor Susan Kluttz, Rowan County Commissioners Chairman Chad Mitchell and Rowan County Emergency Services Division Chief Lennie Cooper.
At about 9:59 a.m., bells will chime in three sets of five signifying the “last return home.”
After one minute of silence marking the collapse of the first World Trade Center tower, the city will dedicate steel it received from the World Trade Center site. The steel will eventually become a permanent part of the memorial.
“By gathering as a community of fellowship on this 10th anniversary of Sept. 11, we are able to remember and honor the countless acts of self-sacrifice and heroism exhibited by the brave individuals who responded on that fateful day,” Kluttz said in a press release.
“Through their acts of quiet valor and sincere dedication to others, we are able to observe this same spirit in the daily services provided by our local fire, police, rescue and emergency medical service workers,” she said. “Their fortitude, devotion, and genuine compassion offer a continuous testimony to the memory of those individuals who perished, to the strength of the American people, and to the steadfast resilience of our nation’s spirit.”
Sunday is Patriot Day, when by a presidential proclamation issued in 2002, flags are to be flown at half staff and those posted in a stationary position are to be draped with a black sash or ribbon.
Beginning at 9 a.m., a portion of South Main Street will be blocked to traffic. The street is scheduled to reopen by about 10:15 a.m.
Parking for the service will be available on streets adjacent to the Salisbury-Rowan Firefighters’ Memorial and within the Chestnut Hill Cemetery. For more information about the service, call the Salisbury Fire Department Battalion Chief Chris Kepley at 704-638-4451.