FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019
Media Contact: Kelsey Bode
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]
*Media Advisory*
City of Gloucester to Hold 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
GLOUCESTER — Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, Police Chief Edward Conley, Fire Chief Eric Smith, Harbormaster Thomas Ciarametaro and Director of Veterans’ Services Adam Curcuru announce that the City of Gloucester will hold a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony next month to mark 18 years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
WHEN:
Wednesday, Sept. 11 at 9:55 a.m.
WHERE:
Gloucester Fire Department Headquarters, 8 School St.
WHO:
- Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken
- Gloucester Fire Department and Color Guard
- Gloucester Police Department and Color Guard
- United States Coast Guard
- Gloucester Veterans’ Services Office
- Gloucester Harbormasters’ Office
- City and State Officials
WHAT:
Gloucester firefighters, police, military personnel and elected officials will conduct an observance ceremony this September to remember all those lost on Sept. 11, 2001 and in the ensuing Global War on Terrorism.
“Each year, we host this ceremony to remember the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks,” Fire Chief Smith said. “It is a somber day for us all, and it’s important that we continue to gather as a community on this anniversary to remember all those who lost their lives that day.”
The ceremony will begin with an opening statement from Fire Chief Smith and a prayer by Chaplain Peter Aberle of the Orthodox Congregational Church in Lanesville. The City will also hold a moment of silence, and in the tradition of the Fire Department of New York City, the Gloucester Fire Department will symbolically strike a ‘5-5-5-5′ alarm on a ceremonial bell to remember those who died in the line of duty on Sept. 11, 2001.
“This ceremony is an opportunity for our city to come together and support each other, as we always do in difficult times,” Mayor Romeo Theken said. “Thank you to the Gloucester Fire and Police Departments, Harbormaster, Veterans’ Services and Coast Guard for coming together to hold this ceremony, and remembering this very difficult day in our nation’s history.”
Mayor Romeo Theken’s office and the Gloucester Fire Department’s Women’s Auxiliary will host a reception at City Hall on Dale Avenue following the ceremony.
Gloucester residents Dan Leahy, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War who was working at the World Trade Center at the time of the 1993 and 2001 terror attacks, and Brenda Leahy are also organizing a display in the auditorium at City Hall in remembrance of the terror attacks. The display will include a 9/11 quilt among additional memorial items, and a video will be available to answer questions about the terror attacks. The display will be open to the public until approximately 12 p.m. on Sept. 11.
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