travel briefs

Alabama city to honor heroes at festival

DECATUR, Ala. -- The Spirit of America Festival in this North Alabama City will pay tribute to New York firefighters and policemen and the "let's roll" passenger killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the CIA agent slain in Afghanistan.

The two-day festival will be held July 3-4 at Point Mallard, a municipal park on the Tennessee River.

The Audie Murphy Patriotism Award will be accepted by New York City Fire Chief Daniel A. Nigro and officials from the New York City Police Department. The awards will be presented by Decatur Fire Chief Charles Johnson and Police Chief Joel Gilliam.

The World Trade Center tragedy claimed the lives of 343 firefighters, 23 police officers and another 37 Port Authority police officers. They were among some 2,800 killed in the twin towers.

The Barrett C. Shelton Sr. Freedom Award, honoring an outstanding Alabamian, recognizes Johnny "Mike" Spann, 32, of Winfield, Ala. Spann was the first combat casualty in Afghanistan when he was killed last Nov. 29 in battle during a prison uprising in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.

The H.J. Heimlich Humanitarian Award recipient will be the Beamer Foundation established in honor of Todd Beamer who lost his life when a hijacked airplane headed for a suicide mission September 11 crashed in a Pennsylvania Field. Beamer's last words before he and fellow passengers attacked the terrorists were "let's roll."

South Carolinians debate home for sub

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. -- When the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was raised from the Atlantic almost two years ago, the plan was to display it in a new wing of the Charleston Museum.

But plans are much bigger now for a permanent home for the first sub in history to sink an enemy warship.

The commission must now choose between three communities who want to build a museum housing the hand-cranked sub, which itself sank after sinking the Union blockade ship Housatonic in 1864.