The Myrtle Beach 9-11 Unity Memorial will hold its annual remembrance ceremony Friday, September 11 at 8:30 a.m. on the 29th Avenue side of Broadway at the Beach.
The public is invited to attend the event free of charge.
The annual ceremony is hosted by the friends of the Unity Memorial and the Chicora District of the Pee Dee Area Council, BSA. The featured speakers will include Warren Forsyth, who was working with Ladder Company 78 on September 11, 2001.
Forsyth, who was cited 12 times for bravery under fire, also responded to the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center. He joined the FDNY in 1983 and retired in 2003 due to injuries suffered in the 9-11 attacks.
The ceremony will also include a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., coinciding with the time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.
The 9-11 shrine is bookended by the Unity Memorial and a mounted piece of steel beam from the North Tower of the World Trade Center that was given to the Myrtle Beach tourism community by retired FDNY members.
The Unity Memorial was conceived by members of Cub Scout Pack 891 in the aftermath of the September 11tragedy. They brought together Scouts, individuals and businesses from the Grand Strand to erect a monument to remember the way Americans stood together in the days following the tragedy.
The ribbon beam from the World Trade Center is mounted at the opposite end of the memorial with a timeline surrounding it, walking visitors through the tragic day’s events.
The inscription on one of the plaques located on the pump house sums up the purpose for the Unity Memorial, and that is “The tragic events of September 11, 2001 remain a dark memory for America. Yet, in the days that followed these events, Americans stood side by side in unprecedented numbers to remember the souls lost, heal the wounded, repair the damage and resolve that freedom must always prevail in the face of terror and tyranny.”
In the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, the Myrtle Beach tourism community hosted countless first responders to provide them a respite from the work of restoring Ground Zero, and MBGH launched the FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing, forging a relationship with the FDNY and its membership that continues to this day.
As a show of appreciation for the friendship, a piece of ribbon beam from the North Tower was presented to MBGH in May 2011, leading to the completion of the Myrtle Beach 9-11 Unity Memorial.