Residents, first responders observe Patriot Day

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake first responders – and future first responders – paid tribute Wednesday to their predecessors who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001. 

At 6:30 a.m., 19 firefighters from the Moses Lake Fire Department and Grant County Fire District 5 gathered at Civic Center Park to memorialize the lives lost on 9/11. 

“We're coming up on 25 years,” MLFD Lieutenant Jason Koziol said. 

He said it was important to remember the dedication of the first responders who lost their lives in New York on September 11, 2001. “Never forget” isn’t just something to hold as a figure of speech, but as something people follow in their hearts. 

"And it would be a true shame if we didn't still continue to remember that, even long gone in 50 years. So, we do this as that honor to pay remembrance to them and say they're never forgotten.”  

Koziol spoke before a bell-ringing ceremony, noting that 343 New York Fire Department firefighters and 71 New York Police Department officers died 23 years ago, trying to rescue civilians. 

“I want to welcome each of you that join us this morning as we honor the memory of those lost 23 years on this day,” Koziol said. “On this fateful day our nation was shaken to its very core by the deadliest attack of terrorism, the attack of the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, resulting in the tragic loss of nearly 3,000 lives. As we gather today, let's reflect on their sacrifice, honor their memory and commitment, and commit ourselves to ensure that their legacy of courage and resilience endures again.”

The group stood around the memorial statue of the Twin Towers and each firefighter saluted as MLFD Firefighter Darrin Jacobs rang the bell 20 times.

“When there's a line-of-duty death, it's tradition to ring the Four Fives,” Jacobs said. “It goes all the way back to President Lincoln. You ring the bell five times in a series of four with a pause in between (to show) respect for the person who lost their life, given for duty.”

Two student-organized ceremonies marked the occasion at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, one at 8:05 a.m. and another at 11:30 a.m. Students from the Criminal Justice and Fire Science programs raised a flag and then lowered it to half staff, and a Fire Science student rang the Four Fives, while the rest of the student body looked on respectfully and solemnly.

None of the students who gathered was alive in 2001, criminal justice instructor and former MLPD Chief Dave Ruffin said. He summarized the events of 9/11 for the crowd.

“Almost 3,000 people were killed that day,” he said. “More people were killed during 9/11 than at Pearl Harbor … The purpose of (Patriot Day) is to make sure that we don't forget, and to make sure that we honor the men and women from the fire service, from emergency responders, from the police department, all the citizens and the military that was involved in the war on terrorism subsequent to that, who lost their lives to make sure that we're free today.”

The significance of the occasion wasn’t lost on some of the students who participated.

“My grandmother was almost on the plane that hit the second (World Trade Center) tower, but she missed it by a couple of minutes,” said Fire Science student Feliz Nuetzhorn, one of the students who raised the flag. “So, it means a lot to me, because my grandmother could have been in that.”

While they weren’t yet born, students said it was important to remember what happened. 

"Although we weren't born at the time, we weren't around when it happened, it is very important to show our respect and our condolences because it was a horrific event,” said Criminal Justice student Sean King. “Though we are not in the same position they were, we want to fill the boots that they left.” 

At the Civic Park ceremony, Koziol concluded his speech with the traditional Firefighter’s Prayer: 

“When I am called to duty, God, whenever flames may rage

Give me the strength to save some life, whatever be its age.

Help me embrace a little child before it's too late 

Or save an older person from the horror of that fate. 

Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout, 

And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out. 

I want to fill my calling to give the best in me, 

To guard my every neighbor and protect their property. 

And if, according to my fate, I am to lose my life;

Please bless with your protecting hand my children and my wife.”

The Firefighter’s Prayer was written by a Wichita, Kan., Fire Department firefighter by the name of A.W. Smokey Linn.

    Moses Lake Fire Department Lieutenant Jason Koziol reads a speech to remember the firefighters, police officers and civilians that were lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
  

    From left: Columbia Basin Technical Skills Students Sarah Crozier, Felix Nuetzhorn and Sean King raise a flag at the 9/11 memorial Wednesday morning.
  

    A Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center Fire Science student rings the ceremonial Four Fives in memory of the firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.