Students lower flag at Beach Haven School to pay tribute to 9/11 victims, first responders

On the morning of Sept. 11, students clad in red, white and blue gathered around the flagpole at the Beach Haven School to honor the lives lost and the many people who came to their rescue during the terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania 14 years ago. Christine Van Pelt, the school’s new music teacher, played taps on trumpet while the sixth-grade class lowered the flag to half-staff. The students recited the pledge of allegiance and sang the national anthem and “She’s a Grand Old Flag.”

Photo via Beach Haven School
Sixth grade students help lower
the flag at the Beach Haven School.

“Each year, schoolchildren across America study historical events and learn how those events have shaped our nation’s history,” said EvaMarie Raleigh, superintendent of the Beach Haven School. “9/11 is the most recent historical event that not only changed the way Americans live each day, but has created a sense of patriotism among its people. When schools pause to pay tribute and claim, ‘We will never forget,’ we are vowing to never forget the 3,000-plus victims who were lost that day as well as the heroic actions of emergency personnel, average citizens and our military.”

Prior to the lowering of the flag, Raleigh read portions of Gov. Chris Christie’s executive order no. 183, which was made effective Wednesday, Sept. 9. The order asks that the U.S. and N.J. flags be flown at half-staff at all state departments, offices, agencies and instrumentalities as well as all public buildings during appropriate hours on Friday, Sept. 11, 2015. It is a tribute to all responders and victims, including the more than 700 New Jerseyans who were killed in the attacks.

“Fourteen years later, hundreds of New Jersey families must still cope with the devastating loss of a parent, spouse, child, or other loved one,” the order states. “… We remain grateful to our law enforcement communities and our Armed Forces for their invaluable sacrifices to protect us at home and abroad since the terrorist attacks.”

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.