CSRA 911 Rally honors local heroes
Sep. 12—Lakeside Baptist Church held a special service Sunday honoring the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Tad Marshall, the church's lead pastor, spoke about the attacks.
"We knew where we were, and we were all in shock about what was happening. We saw national heroes," Marshall said. "In New York City, in Washington D.C., the Pentagon, and even those passengers who went down on the plane in Pennsylvania. They saved many lives by what they did. They paid the price for rescuing others. And so, these were our national heroes. We saw the firefighters...law enforcement, medical, we saw even just regular people and normal citizens pitching in."
Marshall emphasized the importance of honoring local heroes in the community.
"We saw national heroes, and I think it's always right to remember that and honor them and be thankful for them," he said. "But our call here ... is we have local heroes."
Marshall praised Richard Doran, a church member who was there the day the Twin Towers were attacked.
Doran, a retired NYC firefighter, was a member of a special operations company that didn't arrive until after the tower had fallen. He spent weeks digging through the rubble in the aftermath of the attack. Eight men in his company were lost. Of those lost in the larger company that day, 85 were friends.
Marshall also thanked every guest there who was part of local emergency services or the armed forces, adding that he hoped they knew they were loved and appreciated for their work. In his sermon, he said that emergency responders were like the Good Samaritan.
Special coins, called challenge coins, were given out to each representative of an emergency service agency and department that was present at the rally and later to every individual serving. John 15:13 was engraved on one side.
Every person present who was part of a local department or agency from fire department to Boy Scouts received challenge coins, and over 60 members of local emergency services were present.
Aiken Department of Public Safety Chief Charles Barranco read out the names of local law enforcement and public service department members who had died the past year in the line of duty.
After the service, guests were invited to enjoy Pelican's Snoballs as well as catered meals from BBQ Barn.
When asked how he felt about the service, Doran talked about how that day hurt every year, the same as it did day two or year two and how he still kept in contact with the wives of the friends he lost and other members of the company.
"One of the things that we told the wives of (those who died in) our company is that we would make sure no one ever forgot about it, what their loved ones did. You can't forget that. This event helps to do exactly that. It keeps the memory alive."
