Firefighters, grieving members of the family, dignitaries, and politicians blended with most people.
NEW YORK CITY—Firefighters, grieving members of the family, dignitaries, and politicians blended with most people at a memorial plaza in decrease Manhattan to honor those that misplaced their lives within the terror assaults on the World Commerce Middle 24 years in the past.
The twenty fourth anniversary ceremonies started at 8:30 a.m. with the nationwide anthem. The New York Metropolis Hearth Division Emerald Society Pipes and Drums performed whereas law enforcement officials marched out carrying the Stars and Stripes.
Over the subsequent few hours, kinfolk of those that perished within the Twin Towers learn 2,977 names—husbands, fathers, sisters, and uncles—together with emotional private messages.
There have been six moments of silence, every accompanied by the tolling of the Bell of Remembrance.
The moments of silence coincided with the instances at which varied occasions occurred on 9/11. At 8:46 a.m., the North Tower was struck by American Airways Flight 11. At 9:03, United Airways Flight 175 hit the South Tower. At 9:37, American Airways Flight 77 struck the Pentagon. At 9:59, the South Tower collapsed. At 10:03, United Airways Flight 93 crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At 10:28, the North Tower fell.
The heaviness of these moments was somber and exquisite as hundreds bowed their heads, clasped their arms, or saluted.
Three buglers performed faucets to conclude the ceremony.
Many main political figures have been current, together with FBI Director Kash Patel, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams. Others included former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who continues to be recovering from a automotive crash on Aug. 30, and mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani.
A number of individuals commented that the climate was much like the climate on that September day in 2001.
“When you get weather like this … this is exactly how it was, that crystal clear sun,” Matthew Russo advised The Epoch Occasions.
“A lot of people will tell you they get a flashback every September [when] the sun comes out glistening like this, even if it’s not the exact day.”
Russo, who was a firefighter within the Bronx on 9/11, stops by the memorial usually. He by no means misses the anniversary.
“This is a sign of respect and remembrance for all the guys that died,“ he said. ”Only a good surroundings to be in. To be actual, it’s like an enormous household.”
He described the clean-up work that befell within the months following the assault.
“I worked down here until around April, on and off, and going through the whole pile until it was done,“ he said. ”That’s what I did. I wasn’t right here through the collapse itself. It was the subsequent morning we received down. And all people pitched in. We labored onerous for months and months till we received to the very backside. Discovered each little scrap of all the pieces they might discover, whether or not it was individuals or private results—something.
“It was pretty rewarding to work down here. I felt good about it.”
Robert Fast got here to see the memorial ceremony from Springfield, Missouri.
“I’ve always wanted to come, just out of respect,“ he said. ”However what’s occurred within the final couple of days, you realize … I felt like I wanted to be right here.”
Regardless of his sorrow on the day of remembrance, Fast needed to share a message of hope.
“Just know that there’s good in the world,” he mentioned.
“You see a lot of evil, and we experience it every day. It’s always in the news, but there’s a lot of good people.”
Evan Sydney, who was a longtime New York resident earlier than shifting to Florida to look after his father, got here to look at the 9/11 ceremony, saying that it made him unhappy but additionally made him proud to be an American. He was a volunteer firefighter again then and described his experiences from that day.
“There were F-16s circling around. There was a lot of smoke going toward New Jersey, and it was ’snowing.‘ And the ’snow’ was gray because it was all the stuff they sprayed on the I-beams. It wasn’t asbestos, but it was fluffy, and it was piled up on all the cars. You could sweep it up, and I swept it up and put it in a cigarette pack,” Sydney mentioned.
“And it was a beautiful day like today. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was the saddest day of my life.”
Correction: A earlier model of this text misstated the date of former New York Metropolis Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s automotive accident. The Epoch Occasions regrets the error.
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