Service members, firefighters and first responders bowed their heads in silence at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Thursday as a show of respect for the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We are warriors, whether we are civilians or military,” said Ron Hancock, chaplain for the Oak Harbor Fire Department.

During his prayer, Hancock said that he has toured the site where the Twin Towers fell and his impression was that those who died would say “to live our lives in a worthy way” that would make them proud.

Navy Region Northwest Fire and Emergency Services Chief Sean Merrill thanked the Oak Harbor community for being inclusive of the military personnel.

“This is a premier military community,” Merrill said. “There’s no line drawn; we’re all one community.”

The best way to memorialize the first responders that were lost Sept. 11 is to do their jobs, and do it well, he said.

“It’s about what we say we do,” Merrill said. “We honor them by preparing, and when that 911 call comes in, we go out and do what we say we do.”

The annual Patriot Day event included a moment of silence for the fallen, a single bagpipe and the traditional ringing of the bell. The bell ringing is a tradition of the fire service that reflects respect and honor to those who gave their lives in the line of duty.

The ringing of the bell represents the return to quarters, comprising three rings of the bell, three times.

Capt. Mike Nortier, NAS Whidbey commanding officer, said the reason Sept. 11 was designated by U.S. Congress as “Patriot Day” was to ensure that those who sacrifice their lives in service to their country are honored and remembered as patriots.

“Why the word patriot?” Nortier asked. “Patriot,” he explained, is defined as “one who loves his country” and who “zealously” protects its authority and interests.

The attacks not only failed to break the country’s spirit, but Americans united against a common enemy in solidarity, he said.

“America certainly rallied after 9/11.”

The tragedy served to “unite us against them, not just for one day, but for a generation,” Nortier said.

Nortier encouraged those in attendance to not only remember those who died Sept. 11, but to remember “all the patriots, across America and across the world.”