Erie County memorial services on Sunday will mark the 21st anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks

Valerie Myers, Erie Times-News
·3 min read

Laura DiPasqua-Grappy of Girard will be the keynote speaker at Erie County's annual Sept. 11 memorial ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial at Blasco Library on Sunday.

Later in the day, a second service in Erie County, featuring almost 3,000 flags, will be held at Fairview High School.

9/11 service at Blasco Memorial Library

In 2001, DiPasqua-Grappy was emergency services director for the Greater Erie County Chapter of the American Red Cross and led local responders at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. DiPasqua-Grappy and her team were exposed to toxins in the gray dust, burned jet fuel, asbestos and other debris through 17 straight days of 16-hour shifts at the site.

Six years later, DiPasqua-Grappy was diagnosed with incurable cancer. She has battled the disease and battled for responders and attack survivors since.

From the GoErie archive: In Erie, at the World Trade Center, Pentagon, Shanksville: Erieites share their 9/11 stories

"When I came home from New York City ... I never thought my life would be this," DiPasqua-Grappy told the Erie Times-News in 2016. "When we were down there, we all continuously worked and did whatever was asked of us without hesitation."

On Sept. 11, 2001, almost 3,000 people died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and in the crash of a fourth terrorist-hijacked jetliner in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Twenty-one years later, the death toll among attack survivors and responders continues to rise. As of June 30, 2022, 5,380 of those enrolled in the federally funded World Trade Center Health Program have died.

From 2021: Sept. 11 reminded America of all that makes us good. How quickly we've forgotten.

This is a scene from the 2021 Erie service remembering those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
This is a scene from the 2021 Erie service remembering those killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Sunday's 8:30 a.m. memorial ceremony will honor those who died and those who worked to help others.

The program will include the playing of "Amazing Grace" by the Erepa Grotto Pipes and Drums and a 21-gun salute by the American Legion Post 571 Honor Guard.

Erie County Council Chairman Brian Shank will serve as master of ceremonies.

Erie's 9/11 Memorial, in front of Blasco Library at 160 E. Front St., is an 18-foot section of steel beam from the World Trade Center.

Nearly 3,000 flags on display at Fairview High School

The second-annual 9/11 memorial service organized by Fairview High School students will be held Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Fairview High School, 7466 McRay Road, Fairview.

All the details:9/11 service at Fairview High School

Nearly 3,000 flags, commemorating those lost in the 9/11 attacks, will be placed by Fairview students in the lawn near the school.

A flagged firetruck will be at the event, along with three firefighters who responded to the 9/11 tragedies. The event will also include several local speakers.

If you go:

  • Erie County's 9/11 Memorial Service

  • Sunday, 8:30 a.m.

  • Blasco Memorial Library, 160 E. Front St.

  • Fairview High School's 9/11 Memorial Service

  • Sunday, 1 p.m.

  • Fairview High School, 7466 McCray Road, Fairview

Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@timesnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @ETNmyers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Sept. 11 first responder will speak at Erie County memorial service