As another anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack approaches, Owego Fire and Emergency personnel will again pay solemn homage to the victims with a ceremony steeped in reverence and remembrance.
First Responders say there is simply nothing more honorable, more courageous, or more heroic than someone giving their life so others can live. Their annual ceremony is a small way for us in Owego and Tioga County to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice on 9-11.
The ceremony for Owego and Tioga County is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 11, starting at 8:46 a.m. at the Fireman’s Statue Baker Memorial Fountain, Main Street, near the Gazebo and on the north lawn of the Tioga County Courthouse.
Owego Fire Police Lieutenant and 9-11 Ceremony Coordinator John Hitchings has extended an invitation to all to “Honor Our Brothers and Sisters.”
There will be a walk from the Owego Central Fire Station to the Fireman’s Statue. Those walking will meet at the Central Fire Station across from John’s Fine Foods from 8 a.m. to 8:25 a.m. Color Guards of Honor will lead the walk starting at 8:30 a.m. on North Avenue and Main Street.
Owego Fire Department Chief Dan Gavin says the remembrance ceremony will honor 343 firefighters, eight EMTs, 61 police officers and 2,581 civilians.
Tioga County responded to 9-11 with EMTs, firefighters and police officers to fill spots left by their fellow emergency service teams, firemen and police officers.
New York State Police Trooper Jeremiah Allen will play the bagpipes, a traditional part of solemn firefighter events. The Glenn A. Warner Post 1371, Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Guard, will lower the flags.
Speaker Rev. Thomas A. Valenti, parochial administrator of St. Patrick’s and Blessed Trinity Parishes, will offer appropriate personal reflections. On 9-11, Father Valenti was the Chaplain at Columbia University, nine miles north of the World Trade Center.
The remembrance ceremony includes the Lighting of Candles for the seven who in past years gave their lives for the safety of Owego citizens to include Owego Police Department Officer Isaac Wiltsie and F. Allen Hall; and Owego Fire Department members Ray Wiltse, Winifred Knap Sr., Richard Beck, Steven Gavin and Matthew Porcari.
The Tolling of the Bell Ceremony will signal “last alarm” for the fallen first responders.
Other program events, with Master of Ceremonies Jim Raftis, include the National Anthem sung by Andrea McBride, the Pledge of Allegiance, and Benediction by OFD Chaplain George Hall.
Members of the public are invited to this 14th annual memorial event to honor the firefighters, paramedics, police and those serving the emergency medical community.
Those firefighters, EMS and police who responded to the World Trade Center are invited as special guests for recognition for their service and sacrifice.
