PCC President Dr. Patrick U. Tellei presenting a wooden-framed photograph to the family of a fallen Palauan Hero.

On Wednesday, September 11, 2013 Palau Community College (PCC) hosted a 9/11 Memorial Service at the PCC Assembly Hall. The service remembered the victims and honored the heroes of the 2001 attacks. It also honored the fallen heroes. Since the attacks, countless soldiers have lost their lives fighting against terrorism. Included in this count are a number of Palauan soldiers who had joined the United States Military.

Palau’s Minister of State Billy G. Kuartei, Minister of Health Gregorio Ngirmang, Senate President Camsek E. Chin, and the US Embassy Charge d’Affaires Thomas P. Daley attended the service. Members of the Ocean Horizons, a group of law enforcement officers and firemen from New York, and the families of the fallen Palauan heroes were the special guests of the evening.

The service was full of inspirational music provided by the PCC Music Club, the Shalom Youth Ministry Choir, and the St. Joseph Church Choir. Speeches were given by PCC President Dr. Patrick U. Tellei, Charge‘d Affaires Thomas P. Daley, the Ocean Horizons Team Leader Paul Bardo, Deputy Chief Firefighter Dan Butler, and the Minister of State Billy G. Kuartei.

The speeches touched on memories of the tragic event particularly of the global impact it has had on people.  The audience was encouraged to commemorate the fallen heroes and victims through remembering why they mattered in our lives, community service or assistance to others, and learning from the tragedy.  People were invited to sign a guestbook at the end of the memorial service, and family members of the Palauan soldiers were given wooden-framed photograph containing pictures of each hero lost while fighting against terrorism.