Darlington honors the fallen on 9/11
Darlington Fire Department Chaplain Frank Stoda related his personal experiences as a member of the first rescue team to enter the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks. PHOTO BY STEPHAN DREW
A large crowd gathered at the Grand Old Post Office on Friday, Sept. 11, to hear DFD Chaplain Frank Stoda share his experiences in Washington DC on 9-11-2001. PHOTO BY STEPHAN DREW
By Stephan Drew, Editor
A quarter-century has passed since the darkest morning in modern American history, but last Friday, the wound still felt close. Outside the Grand Old Post Office (GOPO) at 201 Pearl Street, a massive American flag rippled from the ladder of a Darlington Fire Department truck, catching the morning light as a huge crowd gathered to remember, to honor, and to say, once again: We will never forget.
Inside the historic building, the 25th Anniversary 9/11 Commemorative Service brought together elected officials, first responders, veterans, clergy, and neighbors for a morning that was equal parts solemn and stirring.
The event was hosted by Darlington County Coroner and GOPO owner J. Todd Hardee, who welcomed the large crowd into the venue he has preserved as a place of community memory. Rev. Tim Coker, pastor of Central Baptist Church, opened the ceremony with a heartfelt prayer which set a tone of reflection and gratitude.
As the program began, an Honor Guard from the Darlington High School JROTC, led by First Sgt. Carter, carried the colors into the room. Every person in attendance rose, hands over hearts, in a moment of quiet unity that transcended age, rank, and title.
Among those present were South Carolina Rep. Richie Yow (District 53) and Rep. Robert Williams (District 62), Darlington Mayor Curtis Boyd, Society Hill Mayor Cecil Graham, Darlington County Sheriff Michael August, Darlington Police Chief Jimmy Davis, Society Hill Police Chief Mark Campbell and Darlington Fire Department Chief Pat Cavanaugh. They were joined by local police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, paramedics and a number of military veterans — men and women who understand, perhaps more than most, the weight of the day being remembered.
The heart of the morning belonged to the guest speaker, DFD Chaplain Frank Stoda, introduced by Chief Cavanaugh. Stoda was in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2001, and was among the first rescue workers to enter the Pentagon after American Airlines Flight 77 struck the building. Speaking with the quiet authority of someone who lived it, he walked the audience through the attack — the plane’s trajectory, its flight path into the building, and the almost unimaginable force that tore through six consecutive layers of two-foot-thick concrete walls. Paired with a detailed slideshow, his account brought the enormity of that day into sharp, human focus.
Stoda spoke not only of destruction, but of the deep loss — of families whose loved ones kissed them goodbye that morning and never walked back through the door. And he spoke of courage: the first responders who ran toward danger while others ran away, giving no thought to their own safety in the desperate hope of saving someone else’s life. He reminded the room that this spirit did not end in 2001. It lives on in every firehouse, every patrol car, and every ambulance bay in America — including right here in Darlington.
Reps. Yow and Williams, both military veterans, also shared their 9/11 and combat experiences with the crowd. In a moving tribute, first responders and military veterans in the audience were asked to stand. They were met with loud and sustained applause — a community’s way of saying thank you to those who serve and have served.
The ceremony continued with a powerful musical moment as Deputy Justin Anderson performed a stirring rendition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA,” his voice filling the historic hall with pride and emotion. Rev. Perry Kelly — who serves the community both as a pastor and as a Darlington firefighter — offered the closing prayer, fittingly bridging the roles of faith and service that defined the entire morning.
Following the service, guests shared in a hot dog dinner, a simple and fitting touch of Americana that closed out a morning devoted to remembrance, gratitude, and hometown pride.
Twenty-five years after the towers fell, the Pentagon burned, and a field in Pennsylvania became hallowed ground, Darlington paused — together — to make sure the lessons of that day, and the sacrifices made in its wake, are never lost to time.