With patriotic fanfare, pupils at Sandymount Elementary School honored the nation's war dead, bestowing wreaths and poppies to representatives from branches of the armed services.
Sandymount's annual Remembrance Service began outside the school Friday morning with a trumpet salute by Robert Coffey, owner of Coffey's Music in Westminster.
"We are here today to honor those Americans who sacrificed their lives in order that we are able to live in freedom and pursue happiness," said Sgt. 1st Class James O'Connor of the Maryland National Guard.
With "The Star-Spangled Banner" playing, the American flag was raised. The flag, presented to the school by Del. Nancy R. Stocksdale, "touched the hollowed ground at the Pentagon, after the 9-11 terrorist attacks," O'Connor said.
Sandymount wasn't the only Carroll school to remember the victims of the attacks Sept. 11. On Wednesday, William Winchester Elementary School in Westminster dedicated a "rain garden" and marble bench to honor the heroes and victims of the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
At Sandymount, military recruiters accepted a patriotic wreath on behalf of those who have fallen and those who continue to fight.
Charles Haertig, 87, a Westminster resident and veteran of World War II, attended the ceremony with his grandson, Navy Sgt. Rob Marchand.
"It's very wonderful to be here," Haertig said.
Haertig joined the Navy in 1941 and fought in Normandy. He served four years and one month, he said. During those four years, he fought in some of the war's toughest battles.
"It's great that they honor the guys who fought in previous wars," Marchand said.
Haertig and Army veteran Allen Willoughby accepted wreaths on behalf of fallen comrades, veterans, and the law enforcement officers, firefighters and rescue workers who serve the nation every day.
The students and their guests were given poppies to lay at each wreath or in a collection basket. The poppy is a symbol of life and peace, according to a World War I poem, "In Flanders Fields," by John McCrea.
Fifth-grader Katie Keydash read the poem, which refers to poppies blooming on a blood-soaked ground after an intense Civil War battle. No one believed anything would grow on the ground again.
Civil War re-enactors attended the ceremony to commemorate the beginning of Memorial Day celebrations. The tradition of remembering and honoring fallen Americans began shortly after the Civil War in New York. Eventually, the day came to honor everyone who has died to preserve freedom.
