Patriot Day ceremony is in Ephrata

Event is tomorrow at noon

EPHRATA - A ceremony to remember Sept. 11, 2001, is being held outside the front of the Grant County Courthouse Thursday at noon.

Area law enforcement and fire agencies are participating, event coordinator Tammy Seekell said.

The honor guard will perform a 21-gun salute and there will be a tribute to people who are missing in action (MIA) and prisoners of war (POW).

A bell ringing will commemorate each of the four attacks, she said. The bell is rung at the Ephrata United Methodist Church and is heard at the courthouse.

At 8:45 a.m. EDT, Flight 11 crashed into the north tower at the World Trade Center. At 9:03 a.m. EDT, Flight 175 crashed into the south tower. At 9:43 a.m. EDT, Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. At 10 a.m. EDT, Flight 93 was headed toward Washington, D.C., but crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

Law enforcement and fire agency members will be sitting in "seats of honor" during the ceremony, Seekell said. The ceremony is expected to be 20 minutes.

The American Legion Family of Art Semro Post and Unit 28 will be attending the event.

On Dec. 18, 2001, the U.S. Congress passed a law designating Sept. 11 as Patriot Day.