N.C. communities remember the fallen of 9/11

GRANITE FALLS, N.C. (WBTV) - As the nation honors the fallen this weekend at the 20th anniversary of the attacks on America, some small towns in the foothills are also remembering some of their own.

At the Granite Falls Elementary School, photos of Sandra Teague are up in the media center along with a plaque.

She was going on a vacation to Australia when her flight was hijacked, Flight 77. That’s the plane that slammed into the Pentagon. 

Down the road in the Burke County town of Drexel, folks are remembering a victim who grew up there. Navy Lt. Commander Eric Cranford died in the Pentagon on 9/11.

“He was from a good family,” said David Shirley.

Though he left the area as he went on to college and the Navy, Shirley says he’s still a part of Drexel, “and he always will be.” 

In Morganton Friday, students at Liberty Middle School planted a tree in Cranford’s honor. 

Officials are asking people to pause for at least a moment on Saturday to remember the fallen. 

A procession of emergency vehicles will go from Hickory to Lenoir for a memorial service Saturday morning.

Officials say it’s their way of honoring the first responders who died on 9/11.

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