CARRSVILLE—The 13th anniversary of 9/11 was remembered on Thursday just outside the Sgt. Jayton D. Patterson USMC VFW Post 4411. Members of the Woodmen of the World Franklin Chapter 18 joined Post members in recalling the terrorists’ attacks on America and how citizens responded.

“This is a ceremony in remembrance of 9/11. I think that’s a day we won’t forget,” said Bill Witt, chapter president. He looked up and added, “The skies are just about the same as that day.”

Witt and other WOW members also came to present a flag for the flagpole they established in front of the post. In its history, the organization has donated over 2 million flags.

“Patriotism is the very core of Woodmen,” he said.

Wayne Anderson, the area manager for WOW in southeast Virginia, said to an audience of about 30 people, “Your presence is a testimony that you believe in something larger than yourself.”

Acknowledging representatives of law enforcement, fire and rescue teams who also attended the occasion, he added, “I thank God for our first responders.”

After referencing George Washington’s “Circular to the States” on June 8, 1783, Anderson said, “We can’t be protective of liberty in the comfort of our living rooms.”

He said that on 9/11 citizens forgot the differences that divide them. But Anderson also warned that “one of the greatest tragedies” is when people forget what was necessary to buy freedom. He recalled a different patriotic assembly and seeing a disabled Vietnam veteran who was crying. The man said the reason for his tears was not the loss of his legs in service to his country, but that there were so few people at the ceremony.

“This flag is dedicated to every citizen who believes in what the flag represents,” Anderson said. “Thank you for being an ambassador of freedom. I pray that you will display it with pride.”

Kevin Meyer, post commander, said on receiving the flag, “It will be honored always. Sept. 11 is a day that will live forever in the hearts of Americans. We will never forget.”

With the help of Bill Earley, a chapter trustee, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Scott Seddon raised the flag up the pole and then lowered it to half-mast.

After the ceremony, several people recalled where they were and what they were doing on 9/11.

Seddon was on a nuclear-armed submarine in Georgia and was just days away from being promoted to Chief Petty Officer.

“The first reaction was awe,” he said. “Then on reflection, ‘What’s next?’ You rely on your training.”

Ira Witt, chapter reporter, said she and her husband Bill were on vacation in New Bern, North Carolina, and ready to leave.

“We heard the news on TV while packing,” she said. “We were quite anxious on the way home.”

Bob Butler of Colosse said he was reading the newspaper at home, and when he turned on the television the first plane had already hit.

“It had an immediate effect on me,” Butler said. “It really got to us. Now I’m worried about ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq].”

Kevin Duck, commissioner of the Carrsville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, was employed by the Virginia Farm Bureau at the time of the attacks.

“I was playing hookey that day and testing a dry hydrant,” said Duck, who heard the news on the car radio.

“That night we gathered around the station and contemplated what happened.”

Vince Holt, chief of the Franklin Fire and Rescue Department, said he was in New Orleans. Holt was working for International Paper at the time, and the company sent him to attend a conference on sprinklers presented by the National Fire Protection Association.

“We were sitting in a classroom when one of the students came in and told us what happened,” he said. “It unfolded from there.

“I’ll never forget that night. My wife was with me and she asked if we should go out. I said, ‘Absolutely. The terrorists want us to be afraid, but we’re not going to let them win.’ Life continued on Bourbon Street. It was good to see other people who were out for the same reason.”