On 20th anniversary of 9/11, Harvard remembers police, firefighters, and EMTs who served

The brilliance of the late summer morning contrasted with the somber uniforms worn by the Harvard police officers and firefighters who stood in groups around three gleaming fire engines. Current and former dispatchers gathered nearby. Members of the Ambulance Services took their places beside their vehicle; most wore dark T-shirts that announced the group’s 50th anniversary this year.

The four groups of emergency responders assembled in front of the Public Safety Building last Saturday to honor those who died saving others on Sept. 11, 2001. The occasion also honored the memories of local first responders who served the cause of public safety in Harvard. (For the names of all those local first responders, see the lists below.)

A small crowd of residents and family members stood by, along with all five members of the Select Board. All together, about 65 people attended the ceremony.

Fire Chief Rick Sicard pauses and listens to the tolling of the bells. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)  MORE PHOTOS

At 8:46 a.m—the time the first plane struck the World Trade Center 20 years ago—the hum of conversation stopped as bagpiper Lt. Brenton Bourne of the Ayer Police Department began to play “Amazing Grace.” After the last notes faded away, Lt. Tony Shaw, who is the longest-serving current member of the Fire Department, rang the bell of Harvard’s antique fire engine in the series known as 5-5-5-5—four sets of five rings each. The pattern is “the last call,” Shaw later explained, the traditional signal that a fire call is over, which also honors a death in the line of duty.

Dispatcher Pat Natoli and Lt. Andrew Perry of the Fire Department, who together had organized the ceremony, welcomed everyone. Natoli said she had been thinking of the need for a memorial observance since April 2019, shortly after the deaths of several retired colleagues. She said the 20th anniversary of 9/11 seemed like the right time to combine local and national remembrances.

As a lasting tribute to past first responders, Natoli chose a flowering plum tree, which Three Seasons Landscape planted in front of the Public Safety Building. The plum tree’s colors are a blend of blue, white, and red, she said, and symbolize the police, the ambulance crew, and the firefighters. Near the tree will be a stone with a bronze plaque dedicated to Harvard’s first responders.

Police Sgt. James Babu recalled the courage of the first responders in New York City 20 years ago. “Through all that chaos and devastation,” he said, “… these first responders raced to the scene, determined to save lives.” He reminded listeners that 343 firefighters, 60 police officers, and eight paramedics were killed that day, while countless more sustained long-term injuries or illnesses from which many have since died.

Looking back at local history, Babu noted that Harvard’s Police Department began in 1935, with just one full-time officer: Chief Hugh S. Betts. Betts worked out of his home, Babu said, being alerted to the need for help by a phone call or a knock at his door. Six of Harvard’s past chiefs of police have since died, Babu said, as well as two retired full-time officers and eight reserve officers.

Remembering the firefighters who had died on 9/11, Fire Chief Rick Sicard said, “We gather here to live up to our promise to never forget.” He noted that the Harvard Fire Department, founded in 1921, has served the town for 100 years. Over that century, more than 70 of those who volunteered as firefighters have died, and their names were all read aloud.

Jason Cotting spoke on behalf of the Ambulance Service, noting its 50 years of service. He, too, read aloud the names of former volunteers who have died.

Harvard’s first dispatchers were the local telephone operators. Beginning in 1935, they directed calls straight to the police chief, Natoli said. Then, in 1968, the Clinton police began taking calls from Harvard and then calling the Harvard chief. In 1972, dispatchers Dora Burdick and Pauline Hynes started taking the calls in their Harvard homes. Only in 1978 did the dispatchers move first into Town Hall and then, in 2003, to the Public Safety Building. A decade later, in 2013, the dispatch service moved to its current base in Devens.

The ceremony drew to a close with Tony Shaw again sounding 5-5-5-5, the last call.