Travis Scott, of Aiken, whose father is serving in Iraq with the 122nd Engineering Battalion, bows his head during the ceremony at the Department of Public Safety marking the Sept. 11 attacks. RON COCKERILLE/STAFF

Augustans sing of unity, patriotism

Louise Guffey had more than one reason for attending Augusta's United We Sing remembrance of the Sept. 11 attacks.

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The New Jersey native, now an Augustan, remembers her brother, a doctor, rushing to New York City to help World Trade Center survivors, and her nephew watching the plane slam into the second tower while working on top of a building six blocks away.

But her main reason for joining fellow Augustans in song?

"I would have been here no matter where it (the attacks) happened," she said. "We all have to come together."

Mrs. Guffey was among an estimated 1,600 people at the Jessye Norman Amphitheater event, one of dozens of remembrances in the Augusta area Thursday.

Randy Miller, the chairman of the amphitheater gathering, said it was part of a 60-city effort by barbershop choruses to bring about unity.

About 70 members of the Garden City Barbershop Chorus led the crowd in patriotic tunes, and as night fell on the amphitheater, the voices of hundreds could be heard as one.

Reach Preston Sparks at (706) 828-3904.

--From the Friday, September 12, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle