City of Palm Coast Marks 25th Anniversary of 9/11 with Annual Candlelight Memorial Service

The City of Palm Coast marked the 25^th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at Heroes Memorial Park on Friday with the annual Candlelight Memorial Service. The solemn ceremony served as a fitting reminder of the events a quarter-century ago and served as a time of remembrance of the nearly 3,000 lives that were lost on that day, and the thousands who have since passed from succumbing to illnesses endured while working at ground zero in lower Manhattan after the attacks.

Palm Coast Fire Department Deputy Chief Bradd Clark served as Master of Ceremonies for the event, which featured remarks from Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill, Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris, an Invocation from Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain Dominic Scardigno, a Firefighter Memorial Bell Tolling led by Palm Coast Fire Department Chaplain Chris Cottle, and a Benediction Prayer from Father Sergio Santos of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church.

Over 100 residents gathered to pay tribute and share remembrance, lighting their respective candles under the sky at dusk, joining Berryhill, Norris, Cottle, and Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly, who each lit candles that served as symbolic references to the virtue of peace, as well as firefighters, law enforcement, and innocent civilians lost on September 11, 2001.

Local resident Shelley Bennett performed the “Star Spangled Banner,” while Paul Shelton of Redemption Church in Daytona Beach performed “God Bless America,” and the Palm Coast Fire Department Honor Guard Pipe and Drum led “Amazing Grace” to round out the evening’s festivities. 

“Being intentional about remembering the events of 9/11 isn’t a ‘nice to have’, it’s a ‘must-have’ and it’s our duty to teach future generations to never forget,” said Palm Coast Fire Chief Kyle Berryhill. “The responsibility to carry the story forward is our responsibility, and this event is just one way that we are able to fulfill it.”

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