By nicholas brown
nbrown@yourneighborhoodnews.com

Moments of reflection and music at McKelvie Middle School marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11  attacks, as a 20-foot-by-40-foot American flag turned the sky red, white and blue over Bedford’s safety complex on Route 101.

The McKelvie School parking lot was filled with students, Bedford police and firefighters, parents, teachers and residents who came to honor the 2,900 people who perished five years ago in New york, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

It was also a day to honor    current and fallen men and women in the military, and the many firefighters and police who protect citizens at home.

Firefighter memorial
In Concord, about 600 hundred firefighters, friends and family members gathered on Sunday, Sept. 10 – the day before the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 – to honor New Hampshire firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

The dedication of the New Hampshire Firefighters Memorial was a culmination of a project that brought firefighters from across the state who constructed the memorial, which sits just outside the New Hampshire Fire Academy, located off Sheep Davis Road.

Bedford Firefighter Aaron Lambert, one of four siblings  – Gary Lambert of the Hooksett Fire Department, Keith Lambert of Allenstown fire and Eric Lambert of Hudson fire – who helped build the memorial.

“The concept has been around since 1999,” Aaron Lambert said. “The Pittsburgh fire chief made it a ‘Call to Brotherhood.’ When Gary became the delegate and said he would make it happen, we all signed on.”

During the August “Call to Brotherhood,” the firefighters built walkways made of hundreds of bricks, many of which are inscribed with remembrances of loved ones.

“The labor started in April and soon firefighters came from all over the state,” Lambert said. “We had 142 on Aug. 26 and 68 on Aug. 27.”

The memorial’s centerpiece is a large bell, which until recently hung in a Gorham church.

Names of more than 60 fallen firefighters, their departments and the dates they died are inscribed on large stones surrounding the bell.

A  large stone bowl was lit to represent an “eternal flame.”

“Firefighters go to work every day never knowing what the day will bring,” said Governor John Lynch, thanking the present firefighters and their fallen brothers.
Uniformed fire officials solemnly read the names of deceased firefighters aloud, before the swarms of people walked around the memorial, looking for familiar names.

For more information on the memorial, or to buy a brick, visit www.nhsfa.org.