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Memorial for 9/11 at HQ Fire Station at 6:53 am

If you're going to miss the many other memorials on Sunday for any reason (football!?!) or if you'd like to mark the day and pay homage with your firefighters, we will be holding our annual memorial in front of the HQ Fire Station (1001 Sixth) starting at 06:53 in the morning. All are welcome to attend.

I can still recall waking up to the news that morning and then the abrupt, incredulous interruption . . . kissing my wife goodbye a little longer than usual . . . and leaving for work much earlier than normal. I remember the assembled crews at HQ watching together as the towers came down . . . knowing that both buildings were still full of people . . . and likely hundreds of our brother firefighters trying to get them to safety and to put out the fires. I remember wondering if Coronado was on the hit list and being prepared to be at work for a long time if need be . . . .

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to go home the next morning, but 343 of the Fire Department of New York's bravest did not, and neither did over 2600 others. Many thousands more have since died and the global toll continues to rise. Let us gather to remember the sacrifices of so many on this day that has defined an era and changed us all irreparably.

We Mourn.

UPDATE: Video shot and added to eCoronado.com by Al Graham:

Tags: 9/11, events

4 members like this

Comment by eCoronado on September 10, 2011 at 7:55am: Thank you for sharing this Jamie and for your service to Coronado.

Comment by Mayor Casey Tanaka on September 10, 2011 at 8:15pm: Thank you Jamie to you and your brethren.

Comment by Lana Yarbro on September 11, 2011 at 1:59am: Thank you Jamie!

Comment by Lynne Harpst Koen on September 11, 2011 at 6:07am: Prayers for your Brothers.

Comment by Jamie Edmonds on September 11, 2011 at 10:28am: Thank you all for your support! Thanks also to all those who came this morning to join us, especially City Manager Blair King and the Coronado Churches who brought baskets of treats (including homemade!) and cards for both the Police and Fire Departments. It is an honor and a privilege to serve a wonderful community like Coronado and it is days like this which remind us all how fortunate we are to have each other.

Peace.

Comment by Lynne Harpst Koen on September 11, 2011 at 10:34am: This morning's Memorial service was very beautiful. The speeches were incredibly meaningful. As a former SDSO employee, and now as a private citizen, I give personal thanks and praise that we have such wonderful FD and LE here in my home town of Coronado. You guys are the best.

PS-I hope you enjoy my husband George's "Flag Of Freedom" video!

Comment by Jamie Edmonds on September 11, 2011 at 11:56am: This is one of the reasons I love serving Coronado:

(Firefighter/Paramedic Royce Copeman holds up a small sample of tokens of thanks from our wonderful community)

As I was preparing to take this photo, our local Girl Scouts dropped off the cupcakes! . . . and as I was composing this post six year old Zavier and his mom just dropped off a card he colored himself! The cards, handwritten letters and other treats shown were given to us at this morning's 9/11 Memorial ceremony by the Coronado Churches. The names I saw so far were Sacred Heart Parish School and St. Paul's United Methodist, but we haven't finished reading all of them yet--there are over a hundred!

On behalf of all the Coronado Firefighters, please accept our sincere thanks for your thoughtfulness, your generosity and your support. We appreciate it greatly!