9/11 Memorial Ceremony To Be Held At Museum

Museum Admission Waived For First Responders and Their Families All Day On Sept. 11

The Otero County Fire Fighters Association will hold their annual September 11^th Memorial Ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 at the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo.  The ceremony begins with a slide show starting at 7:30 pm. The formal program will start at 8 pm. The ceremony is free to the public.

In conjunction with the Memorial Ceremony, the Museum will offer free admission to active and retired civilian or military First Responders and their families all day on Sept. 11. “We are honored that the Otero County Fire Fighters Association has chosen us to be part of this ceremony each year and in appreciation of their service, we will have the museum open free to First Responders and their families all day. Simply show your identification to our museum receptionist to be admitted,” said Museum Executive Director Chris Orwoll. Additionally, the Museum will be open late that evening, from 5:00 pm to 7:30 pm, with free admission to all planning to attend the ceremony.

The evening’s Memorial Program will include a fire and police turnout ceremony, candle lighting and the symbolic lighting of the twin towers on the museum building. The Holloman Honor Guard will present flags for the fire and police officers who have died in the line of duty in Otero County. Members of the Alamogordo High School Choir will provide music and area resident William Meagher will play the bagpipes.

The guest speaker is Retired Lieutenant William Dement from the New York Police Department. As a patrol Sergeant in Manhattan, Sergeant Dement was the third response vehicle to the first World Trade Center bombing in 1991.He rescued people from a smoke-filled third  floor before taking over hospital operations at St. Vincent’s Hospital where 1,000 victims were brought and in which  5 died.

On September 11, 2001,  Dement was on vacation in Ruidoso where he was building his retirement home. After learning of the attacks, he drove 2100 miles in 2 days to New York City to respond to the disaster.

Dement spent four months sifting through debris of the World Trade Center site after the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. He worked a 12-hour tour at the World Trade Center on Sept 14, 2001, before spending three months on recovery and investigative work at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, New York, where debris was transported from the site.

The Memorial Ceremony is free to the public. Parking will be in the lot just above the IMAX Theater.

The public is invited to join in this solemn affair to commemorate the events on this day in 2001 when America and freedom were attacked on our home soil and so many heroes; fire, police and civilian alike came together to save tens of thousands of lives. 

The New Mexico Museum of Space History is a division of the NM Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information, call 575-437-2840 or toll free 1-877-333-6589 or visit the website at www.nmspacemuseum.org.