The JROTC color guard and South Lake Tahoe residents at the Sept. 11 ceremony. Photo/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Flags flew at half-staff throughout the country on Friday — and Tahoe was no different.

Patriots Day, as Sept. 11 has been named, has become a time to reflect on those who lost their lives eight years ago when terrorists hijacked four planes and forever changed the lives of most Americans.

South Lake Tahoe’s ceremony focused on the importance of first responders. More than 400 died when the Twin Towers in New York were reduced to ash. It doesn’t matter if it is called heroism or they were “just” doing their job — they paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Much was said about the local men and women in uniform as the back row was filled with South Lake Tahoe firefighters, South Lake Tahoe police officers and El Dorado County sheriff’s personnel.

The more than 60 people in attendance at the American Legion also were told not to forget Tim Smith and Brandon Williams — two young men with ties to the South Shore who died fighting in Iraq.

“I think this was the best we’ve had,” Carol Olivas, secretary for the American Legion, said of this year’s ceremony. “It seemed like everyone had a little fire in their speeches.”