Area Firefighters and Law Enforcement Recognized
Dark storm clouds threatened the sky over the Rock Ridge High School football field late Friday afternoon. A line of police officers and firefighters from Virginia, Eveleth, and the Minnesota State Patrol stood silently on the sidelines in front of the bleachers, many of which were blanketed in a sea of high school students covered in red, white, and blue cloths, American flags, and one Statue of Liberty costume.
Before the first whistle blew for the game, a solemn silence fell over the stadium as American Legion and VFW honor guard members marched the colors to the 50-yard line for the playing of the National Anthem.
The ceremony was held in remembrance of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, Arlington, Virginia, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The September 11 attacks resulted in 2,977 fatalities, making it the single largest loss of life from a foreign attack on American soil. That total included 441 first responders. 343 FDNY firefighters, 71 law enforcement officers, 8 paramedics, and 55 military personnel were killed at the Pentagon. Thousands more rescue workers, recovery personnel, and area residents have passed away over the years from long-term illnesses due to toxic dust exposure at Ground Zero.
Thousands of ceremonies like the one at Rock Ridge were held across the country on Friday, along with major memorial events at Ground Zero in New York City, the Pentagon, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA.
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