Update: Firefighters, Police Salute Those Lost on 9/11

Update, 12:45 p.m.: Added video and quotes from participants.

Coronado firefighters and police officers gathered in front of fire department headquarters before 7 a.m. Sunday to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Fire Chief Mike Blood and police Cmdr. Michael Lawton hosted the 15-minute ceremony, featuring prayers, a moment of silence and bagpipers who played “Amazing Grace.” About two dozen residents joined them.

“Whether it was the public safety personnel and employees of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon or the passengers on board Flight 93, they all took action and it is that action that we honor here today,” Lawton said.

On display was a large framed poster featuring small portraits of the 343 New York firefighters who died after planes crashed into the World Trade Center, most of them trapped in the center's two towers when they collapsed.

Div. Chief Danny Mastro solemnly rang a firehouse bell five times in their honor, before pausing to ring it again. It's a traditional salute to firefighters killed in the line of duty.

Firefighters and officers wore black bands over their shields to show respect for the lost. In addition, some officers sported badges commemorating different anniversaries of the tragedy.

Officer Robert Kline said there is a movement across the country to ensure that all police departments have similar badges that can be worn “for remembrance and camaraderie” on future 9/11's.

Members of St. Paul's United Methodist Church presented the firefighters and police with gift baskets to thank them for their service to the community. Many of them, in turn, personally thanked the volunteers for coming.

“It could have been us (under attack that day) and it would have been them putting themselves on the line,” said Rory Hutchison, who helped organize the Coronado churches involved in offering the gift baskets.

The group also plans to donate baskets to ailing military personnel at Naval Medical Center San Diego near Balboa Park.

Patch.com communities have joined to demonstrate how 9/11 touched everyone around the country in the past decade. See faces, keepsakes, memorials, ceremonies, flags, fundraisers and deployments related to the attacks. Click through to see how your neighbors near and far remember 9/11.

For other Coronado Patch 9/11 coverage, see our dedicated page.