Providence School Honors First Responders in 9/11 Memorial Ceremony
Twenty-three years after the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil, a school in Plymouth honored the nearly 3,000 lives lost on 9/11.
Plymouth first responders drove their vehicles through the Providence Academy campus as students watched the ceremony Wednesday morning. None of those students were alive in 2001.
Providence Academy has done these ceremonies for more than 20 years. Dale Duerkson, the school’s security officer and a former Plymouth police officer, said he’s grateful that the school and its students show this support.
A snapshot of the 2,977 flags lining Providence Academy’s campus.
Duerkson said he remembers the attack like it was yesterday. He heard it on the radio in 2001. Today, the impact is still clear.
“When you see all of these students from the littlest pre-k, all the way up to the seniors, lining the sidewalks with their hands on their hearts completely silent. They’re not saying a word. For me, to have students be able to do that, it’s a great honor for the officers,” Duerkson said.
Nearly 3,000 flags line the entrance to the school. All 2,977 of them — symbolic of the lives lost on 9/11– were put down by Providence students.
