Altruria Elementary School hosts its 9/11 Ceremony each year to honor those who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terroristic attacks in the U.S. They also honor the first responders who helped the victims and the survivors. The entire school filed outside Monday morning to a crowd of parents, and all recited the Pledge of Allegiance, watched a flag ceremony, sang the national anthem, said the Pledge of Allegiance and heard a few words from Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald about the American lives lost on this day in 2001.
Although Altruria Elementary School’s annual 9/11 Ceremony is a solemn occasion, there is no suppressing the smile of a child with a brand-new flag to wave. Photo by Carolyn Bahm.
Glen Ross, post commander for American Legion Elvis Presley Post 249, was among the post’s members who raised the U.S. flag to half-mast at the ceremony. Photo by Carolyn Bahm.
Older students in this Altruria Elementary choir belted out the national anthem for an appreciative crowd Monday. Photo by Carolyn Bahm.
Parents like Mitsukl and Ronald Cloutier gathered to watch their children in Altruria Elementary School’s 9/11 Ceremony on Monday morning. Cloutier is a master chief petty officer in the Navy. Their daughter, Christianna, is 5. Photo by Carolyn Bahm.
This child, like others at Altruria Elementary, received an American flag to hold proudly during the school’s annual 9/11 Ceremony. Photo by Carolyn Bahm.
These Altruria Elementary kindergarteners led the crowd through the Pledge of Allegiance. Photo by Carolyn Bahm.
