The Wareham community joined together on Sunday, September 11 in recognition of the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and honored the emergency responders who risk their lives every day to help others.

"A television that had brought us 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' and 'Touched by an Angel' .... showed us the agonizingly slow death of 3,000 [people]," keynote speaker Admiral Richard Gurnon remembered. Gurnon is the president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

But in addition to the horrific scene of the towers falling and Pentagon burning, he noted: "Mostly we remember the sight of firefighters, police, and EMTs running towards the fires, instead of away from them, in an effort to help victims.

The evening began at Lopes Field in with a parade of first-responders, veterans, Massachusetts Maritime Academy cadets, and community organizations. Ceremonies then took place and the pier and the Band Shell.

Members of the religious community as well as town officials were in attendance.

Town Moderator Claire Smith, who served as master of ceremonies, helped Onset citizens Rudy Santos and Winna Dean plan the event along with a committee of at least a dozen people.

Santos decided he must do something to honor those who died along with the emergency officials who responded to the scenes on 9/11 after he was inspired by a woman who, shortly after the attacks, pulled over on the street he lives on in Onset and began yelling about how she needed to "do something."

Santos found out that the woman - like himself - was distraught about the attacks and had purchased a tree to plant in memory of the victims.

Santos helped the woman plant the tree and the two hugged and cried together, but the woman would not give him her name or her phone number. Santos then decided he, too, must do something.

"I wear my heart on my sleeve, but so be it," Santos told the crowd of dozens on Sunday.

Santos, Dean, and Onset Fire Chief Howard Andersen then planned the first 9/11 remembrance event 10 years ago. As the 10th anniversary of the attacks approached, Santos said he knew another event was in order.

In addition to prayers and songs, Santos and the planning committee presented medallions to veterans and plaques to the Wareham and Onset fire departments and to the Wareham Police, Emergency Medical Services, and Harbormaster departments in recognition of all the first-responders do to keep the community safe on a regular basis.

Among the honored veterans were U.S. Army Maj. Joella Cruz, wife of Selectman Walter Cruz, along with Wareham residents Chief Warrant Officer Joseph DiPasquale and Captain Paul Barnett, who teaches at Wareham High School.

Linda Gay, wife of Peter Gay, who died on American Airlines Flight 11 when it crashed into the World Trade Center was also honored. Gay and his family were summer residents of Onset. A memorial bench with his name and the words "Take time to sit by the sea" overlooks Onset Bay.

Also recognized was Santos' nephew, Phil Johnson, a Staten Island, N.Y. resident who survived the attacks on the towers.

"I appreciate everybody thinking about what happened that day," Johnson told the crowd. "And I'm just glad to be here today."

To much applause, Gurnon pointed out that after 9/11, the country learned that "the real heroes are not athletes on the playing fields" or actors on the movie screen. They are the people who "volunteer to protect and fight for us."