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<b>First Posted:</b> 9/18/2011

CAMILLE FIOTI Times Leader Correspondent
NANTICOKE -- A gigantic American flag, suspended high in the air by two ladder trucks, flapped gently above the entrance of &amp;rsquo;s Regional Public Safety Training Center on Saturday.

Thomas P. Leary, president of Luzerne County Community College, praises people who choose careers as first responders. He spoke at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Walk of Honor ceremony Saturday at the Regional Public Safety Training Center at LCCC.
Don Carey/the times leader

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Led by bagpipes and drums, a long procession of local first responders and members of the community made its way to the site of a new monument marking the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
At the front of the procession, a piece of steel from the World Trade Center was carried on a gurney to the monument -- a concrete replica of the twin towers. Bagpipe strains of &amp;ldquo;God Bless America&amp;rdquo; played as members of Boy Scout Troop #418 assisted in peeling back an American flag to unveil the artifact, which was then hoisted into its permanent home between the two &amp;ldquo;towers&amp;rdquo;.
&amp;ldquo;As time passes, we have learned to live again, laugh again, and love again,&amp;rdquo; said college President Tom Leary.
He commended people who choose careers in the emergency services field. &amp;ldquo;They&amp;rsquo;ve dedicated their lives to each of us,&amp;rdquo; he said. &amp;ldquo;They know what it&amp;rsquo;s like to risk it all for another. We&amp;rsquo;ve seen this happen over and over again on 9/11.&amp;rdquo;
The force of terrorism, as well as the force of nature, have only strengthened us, Leary said, as he thanked the first responders and volunteers who helped the victims of last week&amp;rsquo;s flooding.
&amp;ldquo;The response from our service people was the same,&amp;rdquo; he said. &amp;ldquo;They were stepping up to help each other.&amp;rdquo;
Susan Porter Allen, a student at LCCC, sang the national anthem, and &amp;ldquo;Hold My Hand,&amp;rdquo; a song she wrote in honor of her nephew, who served in Afghanistan and became a triple amputee after being a victim of an IED.
Phyllis Carlo of Newport Township presented a wreath in honor of all first responders and her son, Michael Scott Carlo, a New York firefighter with Engine #230 in Brooklyn who was killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. He was 34. &amp;ldquo;He lived life to the fullest,&amp;rdquo; she said of her son.
Wearing a necklace with a photo of Michael in his uniform, Carlo said her son had always wanted to be a firefighter, and followed in his older brother Robert&amp;rsquo;s footsteps. &amp;ldquo;They were both working that day,&amp;rdquo; she said.
Robert, who was with a fire department in Harlem, was on his way to the World Trade Center that day, but was told to turn around and cover a station for firefighters who were dispatched to the scene.
County Commissioner Stephen Urban recalled the crystal blue sky on that tragic day 10 years ago. &amp;ldquo;Beauty was in the air as thousands awoke, but beauty would not remain.&amp;rdquo;
Urban said the tragedy affected him personally as he spoke about his friend&amp;rsquo;s wife, who was killed in the Pentagon that day.
&amp;ldquo;Remember the victims and remember their families,&amp;rdquo; Urban told the crowd. &amp;ldquo;And as you leave here today, never forget them, and God Bless America.&amp;rdquo;

Saddest day recalled