On September 11, 2001, Army veteran and saxophonist Wayne Hoey was getting ready to do what he loves: make music.
Hoey was at University Hospital in Augusta that day in 2001, preparing to play music for a formal dinner celebrating one of its employees. It was then that someone suggested they turn on the TV.
“We just couldn’t believe what was going on,” he said.
Today, Hoey is a long-term substitute teacher at Hammond Hill Elementary School and has been since 2018.
This year on 9/11, Hoey took his music to the playground where he performed saxophone renditions of “You’re a Grand Old Flag” and “Let Freedom Ring” for Hammond Hill fifth graders while educating them on the history of the terrorist attacks.
“It allows me to share with them something that happened way before their time. Yet for me, it’s living history,” Hoey said.
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Erin Weeks / Aiken Standard
eweeks@aikenstandard.com
Photo Credit: Erin Weeks
