Hundreds gathered Friday on a remote stretch of the Prairies to remember the 9/11 terrorist attacks in a ceremony that also affirmed close bonds between Canada and the United States.
Firefighters from across southern Manitoba marched to the skirl of a bagpipe at the International Peace Garden, a park straddling the Canada-U.S. border at Manitoba and North Dakota.
Salvaged beams from the destroyed World Trade Center in New York City sit in the garden as part of a permanent memorial to the attacks 25 years ago.
Jason Shaw, a deputy fire chief in Winnipeg, said communities and countries came together on Sept. 11, 2001, and that the love and compassion shown to neighbours pierced the darkness of the day.
“Canadians and Americans have always reached across the border in support of each other.”
In the final prayer of the ceremony, 1st Lt. J. Nathan Haugen with the U.S. air force called the garden a place of enduring fellowship and the sacred steel of the beams a testament to resilience, courage and sacrifice.
“Lord, as we stand along this quiet border, where two nations meet not in division, but in shared purpose, we thank you for that unbreakable bond,” said Haugen.
In the crowd were high school students who had not yet been born in 2001.
Audrey Emerson said her parents have told her how they vividly remember being in their school classrooms on 9/11, and that it was good to hear more at the ceremony Friday.
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She was decked out in her crown and sash as the North Dakota contestant for this year’s Miss Teen USA pageant.
“Getting to hear about all the stories is amazing. Even though I was not born at that time, (it was interesting) just hearing about it and being educated on all the different stories,” she said.
“And now I think about Sept. 11 in a different way.”
Retired auditor Mae Streich of Bottineau, N.D., said she has been to every 9/11 ceremony at the garden.
“If we don’t remember and keep remembering the past, we can’t move on to the future,” said Streich, wearing an American flag coat.
She said she’s proud of Canada for doing so much to make the ceremony happen and to have been instrumental in making the memorial at the site.
It’s a testament of what the relationship could be during the current Canada-U.S. trade war, she said.
“I’m very sad that we’re acting the way we are,” said Streich.
Also in attendance were Terry and Kathy Harder. Along with marking the solemn day, they were also celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary.
The couple, who recently moved to the area from Tennessee, said it’s hard to keep the two apart.
“I don’t think you separate it. Sept. 11 is a big day now of sadness for a lot of people,” said Kathy Harder.
But she said it was good to mark the day with so many people.
“We’re just happy to be here.”
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