With cars, bagpipes and pure patriotism, Guardians Support Center Inc. held its annual Patriot Day Car Show and Barbecue to pay tribute to the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks on Friday evening.
Attendees observed the various cars that were entered free of charge, with the best being awarded with trophies. Those in attendance could also stop by local booths, enjoy live music and indulge in a barbecue alongside familiar faces.
As banners that celebrated the nation’s 250th birthday were raised in the parking lot of Higher Vision Church in Valencia, a ceremony was simultaneously held to recognize the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Tim Traurig, founder and president of Guardians SCV, took the podium to introduce himself, along with the incentive of the organization.
“I am a retired fire captain with the Los Angeles City Fire Department after 35 years of service. I am also the son of a Korean War veteran. My dad later served 24 years with the Los Angeles Police Department and retired as a sergeant, chaplain, and a Purple Heart recipient,” Traurig said.
“Tonight we gather for Guardians’ sixth annual Patriot Day 9/11 Car Show and Barbecue. Guardians SCV exists to bring together veterans, military, law enforcement, and firefighters who are active, retired, or in reserves. We provide support, camaraderie, and connection; we believe iron sharpens iron, and we also believe we leave no one behind.”
The ceremony included the national anthem sung by Terrell Edwards, a color guard demonstration by Young Marines of SCV, bagpipes performed by Dave Champagne, and the tolling of the bell by World War II veteran, 103-year-old Kenneth Placek, who was introduced by his son, Paul.
Traurig shared the statistics of the victims who died on 9/11, including: 343 New York City Fire Department firefighters, 37 Port Authority police officers and 23 police officers from the New York Police Department. In addition to those who died in the direct aftermath of the attacks, thousands of emergency responders became sick from the toxins at Ground Zero, as well as other other 9/11-related illnesses.
“Twenty-five years ago today, our nation was attacked under a clear blue sky. In a single morning, approximately 2,977 innocent people were killed, 2,753 died at the World Trade Center in New York, 184 were killed at the Pentagon, and 40 passengers of crew of United Flight 93 died in a field near shanksville, Pennsylvania, after they rose up and fought the hijackers, after a passenger, Todd Beamer, said those famous words, ‘Let’s roll,’” Traurig said. “On this 25th anniversary, we gather, not only to mourn, but to remember with purpose …We will never forget 9/11. We will always honor our fallen, and we will always stand for the United States of America.”
With the support of many sponsors, Jennifer Herring of Jennifer Herring Real Estate has been supporting this event since the start by being a title sponsor — not only for the cause, but for Traurig, who’s her father.
“Guardians is for first responders, either active or reserve, military, law enforcement, firefighters, men and women, and it’s a place for like minds to come together. They started this to raise funds to help anybody that is in need of a lending hand. And there’s service projects they do, whether it’s painting someone’s house or taking junk away,” Herring said. “But they’re in it because they have that brotherhood and sisterhood to be able to support one another. It’s a very incredible group of individuals. It’s pretty amazing.”
Herring, who was 17 at the time, vividly remembers 9/11 and the impact it has had on America throughout the years.
“We grew up in the fire station as a fire family and really got to get exposed to what they deal with on a daily basis. Guardians is a way for us to be able to connect and give back. When you’re in the military, or the fire or police department, you have this brotherhood, you have a sisterhood. When you retire, all of a sudden it’s kind of like now what? So whether active or retired, they all still get together, and it’s a way for them to connect,” Herring said. “We always said we’d never forget [9/11], and so this has been a way to really memorialize it. It’s very closeto my heart, and there’s a lot of great people here that have experienced way more than I could ever fathom.”
For more information on Guardians SCV, visit: https://guardiansscv.org/.
