With a prayer, a speech and a 12-bell salute, Austin residents saluted the service of public safety staff and military veterans across the nation during the fifth annual Patriot Day.

“It’s very important that we honor these people and their lives,” Norm Hecimovich, chair of the Mower County Veterans Committee, told the crowd gathered at the Mower County Veterans Memorial Friday afternoon.

The area’s Patriot Day service also served as a rededication for the veterans memorial, as the committee recently hit its goal of creating 1,056 pavers to honor area veterans past and present.

When committee members started the project six years ago, no one was quite sure how long it would take before the memorial reached its goal, according to Hecimovich. Yet slowly but surely, the first couple pavers were sold, followed by a group of them, followed by another group, until the committee hit its goal earlier this summer.

“This is a legacy,” Hecimovich said. “We’re very proud of this and I think it’s one of Austin’s prides and legacy forever.”

Patriot Day was declared a national holiday in 2011, 10 years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks where a group of 19 criminals hijacked four commercial airlines on suicide missions to destroy symbolic buildings around the nation. Two planes flew into the World Trade Center buildings in New York, causing them to crumble and costing hundreds of people their lives.

In all, more than 2,900 people died during the Sept. 11 attacks, including more than 300 New York firefighters and 60 New York Police Department officers.

For some veterans, the holiday is a nice gesture of appreciation.

“We’re happy to serve the community and we always appreciate the support we get from community members,” Fire Engineer Hans Gilbert of the Austin Fire Department said.

Gilbert is an active member of the Army National Guard, and has served in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan since he first joined in 1999.

The veterans committee hopes to continue securing pavers bearing the names of veterans like Gilbert to continue to build the memorial. Committee volunteers will look into building a pedestal featuring a directory for people who want to find specific pavers at the memorial site.

Though their work may wrap up someday, Hecimovich and other veterans are proud of memorial and its everlasting message.

“Our veterans memorial will be here forever,” Hecimovich said. “We may not be, but our legacy will always be here.”