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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Captian Christopher Tanner was the keynote speaker relayed his emotions and experiences as a young soldier watching the events unfold in New York City. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Brian Bowman a firefighter with the City of Homewood plays Amazing Grace as doves are released behind him. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
A flag is hung between two ladder trucks from Homewood and Mountian Brook. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
A small flag rests at the feet of school children as they sing God Bless America. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Lexi Bregnan sings If I Had My Way as part of the ceremony. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Homewood firefighters Grant Kline and Taylor Hancock help raise a giant flag between two ladder trucks. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
School children walk to the ceremony. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Small flags are passes along for school children sitting in front of the stage. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
A black band covers part of a badge of a Homeood police officer. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Small flags are passes along for school children sitting in front of the stage. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
Homewood firefighter Grant Kline carries the US flag as part of the colorguard. The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
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Photo by Frank Couch.
Patriot Day 2015
The cities of Mountain Brook, Homewood and Vestavia Hills joined together for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and Patriot’s Day Celebration at Homweood City Hall Friday September 11, 2015.
Elementary students watched in awe as doves were released in front of Homewood City Hall on Sept. 11. They weren’t alive when planes truck the World Trade Center 14 years ago, but after the Patriot Day ceremony, they have a greater understanding of the significance of the date.
“Sept. 11 is a reminder that evil and terror still exist, but it is also a reminder that when things are at their very worst, we are at our very best,” said Captain Christopher Tanner, the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
Tanner, a Mountain book native, was a student at West Point in 2001 and later served in Afghanistan. He now serves as the executive director and assistant professor of military science at UAB.
“I remember the confusion, the horror, the anger and the uncertainty as we formed up outside,” Tanner said of that day. “That feeling was cemented in my gut as we saw the first plumes of smoke in the air from the burning rubble of the World Trade Center.”
Tanner recounted how he helped stage supplies for first responders and search and rescue crews across the river from the towers, and how he would later learn that 2,983 civilians, 343 firefighters and 72 police officers had lost their lives.
“In an instant our lives and futures changed,” Tanner said. “We saw ourselves galvanized toward a common goal, defeating extremism, vanquishing terror and continuing to show the world that we are a nation of hope.”
Also during the ceremony, Homewood High School’s The Network show choir performed several songs as a part of the ceremony, with a solo by Lexi Bresnan, daughter of Homewood Fire Chief John Bresnan. City Council Member Walter Jones sang the National Anthem, and Brian Erickson of Trinity United Methodist Church gave the invocation. Brian Bowman played “Amazing Grace” on bagpipes as doves were released at the end of the ceremony.
The annual Patriot Day ceremony rotates locations between Homewood, Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook. Next year it will be held in Mountain Brook.
