National D-Day Memorial and Local Firefighters Honor the Fallen on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11
The National D-Day Foundation paid tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11 and those who have given their lives to serve the country with a wreath- laying ceremony on Sept. 11 and a poppy garden at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Va.
According to Angela Lynch, associate director of marketing for the National D-Day Memorial Foundation, members of the fire department played an important role in the event.
“We are having the fire department coming up on 9/11 to do the wreath laying,” Lynch said prior to the event. “They will come and park in front of the memorial. Last year they placed the wreath right there in the arch area. It’s the highest part of the memorial where people come to see it.”
Participants could buy poppies to dedicate to loved ones who have fought or served for the health and freedoms that Americans enjoy.
“People will actually purchase a poppy in honor of someone,” said Lynch. “It could be a veteran, someone who serves as a police officer or a firefighter. It could be a frontline worker during the pandemic.”
According to Lynch, 4,415 poppies have already been planted.
“Our site staff and volunteers go out and place all the poppies,” said Lynch. “They did that work earlier in the week and they are all out and ready to go.”
This is a special time for the National D-Day Foundation — for several different reasons. This year marks the 20th anniversary of former President George Bush’s dedication of the memorial June 6, 2001.
“A few months after we were dedicated, our world changed forever with the 9/11 attacks,” said Lynch. “It really brought home the cost of freedom after everything that year.”
According to their website, this September also marks the 76th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day, ending World War II. To pay remembrance, the memorial will place thousands of red poppies alongside the sculpture Le Monument Aux Morts as a visual tribute to those who gave their all to preserve the freedoms Americans enjoy today.
The National D-Day Memorial Foundation serves to preserve the legacy of D-Day. The Foundation maintains and operates the National D-Day Memorial in direct support of that educational mission.
To learn more about the National D-Day Foundation and the 9/11 tribute, information is available on the website, www.dday.org.
Hazard is a news reporter.