BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – City officials, first responders, and community members came together Wednesday morning to remember those who lost their lives in the 2001 September 11 attacks.
A 9/11 Memorial Service ceremony was organized at the City of Beckley’s Word Park and was led by Beckley City Council Representative At-Large, Sherrie Hunter.
Pastor Brian Knight of the nearby First Baptist Church oversaw prayer with those in attendance, while students with Oak Hill’s Mountain View Christian School led those in attendance in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Also featured as part of the ceremony was a performance of “God Bless America” by students with Saint Francis de Sales school.
Retired Captain, Kevin Price addressed observers on Wednesday and offered insight into a piece of history which is available for viewing at Word Park in Beckley – a steel beam which was taken from the South Tower of the World Trade Center following the heinous September 11, 2001, attacks. Price also delivered a September 11 proclamation by City of Beckley Mayor, Ryan Neal.
Price explained that the steel beam sitting at Beckley’s Word Park had been classified as Artifact 105B and weighed in at 1,058lbs atop a roughly 1,000lb anchor, itself sitting atop a nearly 10,000lb piece of granite.
“The words on the front: ‘We will never forget;’ and I hope we never do,” said Price of the monument.
Retired state police officer with the State of New Jersey and Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team member, Marianne “Shane” Jervis, was on-hand for the ceremony, and regaled those in attendance with descriptions of her own experience working to save lives at Ground Zero on the day of the September 11 attacks.
“We couldn’t wrap our heads around what we saw; the carnage; the wailing and the crying of the officers and the firefighters losing their brothers and sisters,” said Jervis of the scene at the site of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. “[But] I just want to tell you, no matter how bad things look or how much devastation is around, especially today, God is with us.”
The profound statement was immediately and serendipitously answered by the ringing of church bells emanating from Beckley’s First Baptist Church.
