September 11, 2001 is a date that will always be remembered by firefighters and emergency medical people all over the United States of America and on this morning volunteers from all the departments in St. Mary's County joined with their brothers and sisters of the Naval Air Station Patuxent River Fire Department along with law enforcement and a strong presence of both Navy and United States Marines to make sure that we never forget those who have made the supreme sacrifice for our country.

It was a beautiful day much like the day was on that fateful day in New York City when the first planes crashed into the first tower of the World Trade Center followed by another plane into the second tower shortly thereafter and then the plane that was flown into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia just outside our Nation's Capital. I was sitting at home being recently retired and watching the Today show when they broke with the story of the first plane crash. I watched it all unfold and when the second one flew into the second tower I was calling my wife at work telling them to turn on the television while I headed down to the firehouse like all firefighters probably did that day. I was just so shocked I didn't know what to do but knew that I should probably be somewhere that I could help if needed. Arriving at the firehouse, it was already filling up with others and now we saw where another jet had crashed into the Pentagon building and boy now you were getting close to home only being about 60 miles away. We also heard that another plane had been hi-jacked and was heading to Washington, D.C. to crash in the Capitol but the brave passengers on that flight gave up their lives fighting to gain control of the plane and it ended up crashing in a field in Pennsylvania. Well, I won't try to relive all that went on for the rest of that day and the weeks to come but I know that all of you will never forget any of these very brave people.

Back to the memorial service, Firefighter Mike Fuhrman of NAS Patuxent River I understand had started contacting the different departments in the county to see if they would like to participate in a memorial service on board the base and from the looks of things to me everyone stepped up to the plate and sent personnel and equipment for the day. It was a very solemn procession nothing like a parade with everyone lining up in the area of the main gate then going down the main street of the base to a location in front of the Administrative building where things were set up. I was so moved by all the people on this busy place that showed their respect for the day by pulling over to the side of the road as we passed by or stood at attention along the side of the road. In this day and time when people take the time to do this it says a lot about how they felt about those who have made the supreme sacrifice for them and our country.

While sitting and listening to all the dignitaries recite verses from the Bible you had time to reflect on just what happened that day. Being a firefighter no matter how old you are you couldn't help but think about the horror that the firefighters of New York City faced that day as they made the climb to try and help others. So no matter how old and feeble I'm getting I along with my brothers and sisters of the fire and emergency medical services will always take the time to Never Forget and Never Surrender.

I took a few pictures and I want to tell you about this young lady of about 15 years old Mija San Nicolas who sang "Amazing Grace" and let me tell you she did a wonderful job and everyone was so moved I even saw a few tough firefighters have to dab at their eyes. There was also this Marine Colonel R. L. Cordell who gave the memorial remarks and did he hit it right on the head about these people who did this to us will never win. He was a true marine and I wanted to sign up right then and there.