GREAT FALLS — A memorial ceremony was held on Friday in Great Falls to remember and honor those who were lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Members of Great Falls Fire Rescue, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, and the Great Falls Police Department stood outside Fire Station 1 early Friday morning for their first virtual 9/11 ceremony.
During the service, officials shared memories of 9/11 and urged the public to embrace a spirit of unity, the way the country did following the tragedy 17 years ago. Great Falls Fire Rescue Interim Fire Chief Jeremy Jones shared his own experience of 9/11. “Nineteen years ago today I was actually getting off shift, coming off night shift, doing shift relief when one of the crews kinda hollered from the ready room and said, 'You gotta see this!' So we all went to the ready room and then on the news we saw the second plane hit the second tower and then it was all a blur from there,” Jones said.
Jones said that day changed the future not only for our country, but for the men and women whose job it is to protect it. “9/11 is kind of where the name 'first responders' came from. Before that it was firefighters, firemen, policemen, police officers, law enforcement. In the joint reaction that all the different agencies that went to Ground Zero and searched for victims or tried to evacuate people before the towers collapsed - you know they all responded, and so that term kind of stuck - first responders,” Jones said.
From that day forward, first responders interpreted their job title literally. “I mean that is our goal. When called upon - whether you’re a policeman or a fireman or an EMT - that you respond and intervene. And everyone says to help someone. That is true. That is truly the core of what all of us - no matter what our badge says - is what we do for our communities not only in New York but here in Great Falls, In Cascade County,” Jones said.
As first responders direct their actions towards the community, they ask that the community directs their thoughts towards national unity. “When 9/12 came around the next day, there were flags on every front porch, flags on every vehicle. You couldn’t buy a flag at a store anymore. The nation was united. And it was an act of terrorism that brought us together,” Jones said, “With everything going on in our nation today it’s a better time than ever to remember the unity we all achieved after such a tragic event.”
Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter said during the ceremony, “As you go about your day today, I want you to remember that we have a choice: to be united or choose to be divided.”
AmeriCorps members paid tribute to those lost by hosting a day of service at First People’s Buffalo Jump State Park. Volunteers spent several hours Friday morning working on the park’s trail.
They replaced gravel that had washed away, flattened out some parts of the trail, and created drainage areas to try to prevent water from building up on the trail.
"It makes me feel really great. I’m really happy with how this event turned out. We have about 30 people coming out, so I’m really proud of the community for stepping up,” Americorps Cultural Steward Sarah Norlin said.
She said the goal was to pay tribute to the people who died on 9/11 by helping the community.
President Donald Trump signed a proclamation commemorating "the lives of those who perished on September 11, 2001, we pray for the families who carry on their legacies, and we honor the unmatched bravery of our Nation’s first responders. We also commend those who, in the days and years following the attack, answered the call to serve our country and continue to risk their lives in defense of the matchless blessings of freedom."
