A special SHOUT OUT….to Mark and Joe …you guys (and your team) made Monday happen and your burritos were a HUGE success by ALL First Responders.
Loveland emergency responders honored with 9/11 memorial breakfast
Loveland mayor Cecil Gutierrez declared Sept. 11 as First Responders Red Bandana Day last week
By Sam Lounsberry
Reporter-Herald Staff Writer
POSTED: 09/11/2017 11:36:26 AM MDT
For as many as 18 survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, a red bandana became more than just a handkerchief or useful accessory.
It became the identifying symbol of a man who was later discovered to be a hero.
Welles Crowther, formerly an equities trader, died in the World Trade Center after carrying at least 10 people down stairwells to safety while wearing a red bandana over his face as a mask. Some accounts credit the 24-year-old with helping save as many as 18 lives. For months his identity was a mystery to those he saved. Crowther was a civilian at the time of the attacks. When he was a boy, the red bandana had been given to him by his father, a firefighter in upstate New York, and it was something he had carried with him since.
On Monday, 16 years after the infamous terrorist attacks, Loveland-area first responders were honored by Good Samaritan Society, which helped make the red bandana a universal symbol of local firefighters, police officers and emergency medical personnel.
At three breakfast events hosted by Good Samaritan Society — at the downtown Loveland fire station, 401 E. Fifth St.; the Thompson Valley Emergency Medical Services headquarters at 4480 Clydesdale Parkway; and at Good Samaritan Village, 2101 S. Garfield Ave. — first responders were given a red bandanas, breakfast burritos and a copy of a proclamation declaring Sept. 11 as First Responders Red Bandana Day.
Plaques containing a copy of the proclamation were given to Loveland Fire Rescue Authority Chief Mark Miller, Loveland Police Department Chief Bob Ticer and Thompson Valley EMS Chief Randy Lesher last week.
Folded red bandanas were sticking out of the pockets of firefighters and police officers as they enjoyed the breakfast prepared and served by Good Samaritan Society.
"We count on these guys every day, sometimes multiple times a day," said Lisa Melby, executive director of Good Samaritan Society, a Christian-based senior housing service.
Using Crowther's story to celebrate local public servants was initially pushed for by Doug Overall, a chaplain for Good Samaritan Society. Overall officiated a service Sunday to spread Crowther's story and speak about having the right attitude toward tragedies caused by terrorist attacks and even natural disasters, in light of the destruction left by the paths of hurricanes Harvey and Irma recently.
"It was powerful," Overall said. "I used the service to springboard into why we're doing this breakfast, and more importantly into how we are supposed to look at disasters."
He said his message centered around a Bible verse from the eighth chapter of Romans relating to hope.
LFRA firefighters, including Miller, joined in a moment of silence shared by Loveland emergency responders throughout the city via radio during the breakfast Monday.
"They are coming to our facility and campus often and helping us out," said Cindy Benfield, a health care administrator at Good Samaritan Society. "I wish they were recognized more often because of how important they are."
Benfield, Overall and Melby hope to continue First Responders Red Bandana Day as an annual event on Sept. 11 to help remember the heroic actions of Crowther and local emergency responders.
In addition to firetrucks carrying on the tradition of flying the American flag on Sept. 11, a memorial ceremony will take place 7 p.m. Monday night at Foote Lagoon, where Miller said he will address attendees and may even bring up Crowther's story.
In fact, Crowther's heroic efforts may gain more publicity as the subject of a documentary film that premiered in Suffern, N.Y., last week. Titled "Man in Red Bandana," the movie opened at several New York-area theaters over the weekend and is also available to download on iTunes.
Sam Lounsberry: 970-635-3630, slounsberry@prairiemountainmedia.com and twitter.com/samlounz.
No comments:
Post a Comment