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Tributes Mark 22nd Anniversary of 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
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Two blue beams of light were visible early Monday where the World Trade Center towers once stood in Manhattan, marking the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks with the annual “Tribute in Light.”
The memorial light installation was lit Sunday night, and was visible from dusk to dawn for miles around the city.
The annual ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum begins at 8:30 a.m. in the 9/11 Memorial Plaza, and runs until 1 p.m. The event includes the live reading of each of the 2,977 names of those who died in the attack.
Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to attend the ceremony. The event is not open to the public, and the museum will only be open to family members and ticketholders.
The museum’s Community Day event will begin at 3 p.m., and is open to all 9/11 family members, 9/11 first responders, rescue and recovery workers, family members of those who are sick or have died from 9/11-related illnesses, along with residents and business owners in Lower Manhattan.
The New York City Fire Museum in the Hudson Square neighborhood is holding a wreath-laying ceremony at 11:30 a.m., honoring the 343 firefighters who died when the Twin Towers collapsed. In the 22 years since, another 341 members of the New York City Fire Department have died from illnesses related to being at Ground Zero.
The museum’s special exhibit, “Recovery and Reflection, Celebrating the 9/11 Tribute Museum,” is on display through early October, featuring a slideshow of photos capturing the heroic acts of the day. The exhibit also includes a video of retired firefighter Bill Spade, the only firefighter from Rescue 5 who survived that day.
On the last Sunday of the month, Sept. 24, the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk is held, commemorating the final steps of firefighter Stephen Siller, who ran with his gear through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the World Trade Center. He died in the collapse of the south tower.
In the Washington, D.C., area, First Lady Jill Biden is scheduled to lay a wreath at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, Va., Monday afternoon. She will be joined by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Mark A. Milley.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the district council are hosting a remembrance ceremony at 11 a.m. at DC Fire and EMS – Engine 16 in honor of first responders who lost their lives in the attacks.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four commercial airplanes. Two were crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City, and the third crashed into the Department of Defense headquarters at the Pentagon in Arlington. The fourth crashed in rural Pennsylvania after passengers tried to retake the plane from the hijackers.
“Our hearts go out to those that continue to grieve 22 years later. Grief never goes away, you never move on from grief, you learn to live with it,” said executive and life coach Rob Swymer, author of “Surrender to Your Adversity: How to Conquer Adversity, Build Resilience and Move Toward Your Life’s Purpose.”
“I believe we can not only survive great loss, but thrive again if we live our life in tribute to those we lost and move ‘forward’ ‘with’ them in our hearts,” Swymer said.
TMX contributed to this article.
