A Service of Remembrance
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Tuesday evening, September 11th, a service of remembrance was held in our community at our beautiful Memorial Lane location. Memorial Lane has been described as “a one of a kind park to honor and remember all heroes.” It is reflective of the tremendous respect the community of Granbury has for both military personnel and first responders alike.
Tuesday’s service was moving to say the very least. A group of speakers impacted personally by the events of September 11th, 2001 addressed the group. They ranged from the young deputy for the Hood County Sheriff’s Office, who was 17 years-old in 2001, to military personnel now retired. Each person’s story was heart wrenching, and unique.
I listened intently to each speaker. And of course, my heart was also drawn back to my own experiences on that fateful day 17 years ago. As I sat on the front row during the program, I caught a glimpse of a uniformed Granbury police officer out of the corner of my eye. He was unobtrusively walking around the perimeter of the park during the course of the entire service. I am quite certain the vast majority of people in attendance at this event never noticed his actions. They were fully engaged in an excellent program. But, after nearly 29 years of serving with cops, I noticed. And I knew exactly what he was doing.
The officer in question was making sure that every single person in attendance at the service of remembrance was safe and secure. While the speakers spoke of the heroes from 2001, one of our very own was fulfilling his calling to protect and serve. And, I doubt anyone even noticed. His actions symbolized all of the reasons we had gathered that night. He was in a protective mode, because threats to safety are a constant reality. He was prepared to deal with a threat before the rest would even be aware that something was not right.
As I watched this officer quietly make the rounds over the course of a 90-minute program, I found myself overcome with emotion. I serve people that know their calling. I work with officers that are prepared to fight on my behalf. They are on guard no matter what the setting is, or who happens to be present. The service of remembrance was well-planned. It included outstanding speakers, who reminded us to never forget. But, I went home on the night of September 11thmoved by the actions of one of our local heroes.