'We do remember': Ceremony honors those who perished and survived 9/11
Sep. 12—Representatives from a handful of local law enforcement agencies and San Joaquin County gathered at Micke Grove Regional Park Monday morning to honor those who both perished and survived the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Monday marked the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and the Pentagon in Virginia, as well as the foiled attack on Washington, D.C., that ended with an airliner crashing in Pennsylvania.
"As we gather here, we do remember," San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office Chaplain William Bennett said. "I'm so thankful as we look at all of those of you who are first responders. Our firefighters, our police, our sheriffs, all of those, who took such a role. There was a term that came out of that day as I had never heard before, and that was 'God Bless America.' I heard it again this morning early as I heard that first name being read."
Every year on Sept. 11, the names of the 2,996 people who were killed in the attacks are read at the former site of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, now known as "Ground Zero."
On Sept. 11, 2001, five hijackers forced American Airlines Flight 11 to strike the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. At 9:03 a.m., another five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower and began a chain of events that left the nation in shock. At 9:37 a.m. Eastern Standard Time that day, five more hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon in Virginia.
United Airlines Flight 93 was bound for Washington, D.C. before the passengers overtook four hijackers on the plane, forcing the plane to crash in Stonycreek Township in Pennsylvania at 10:03 a.m.
It is believed the plane was headed for either the White House or the Capitol.
San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors chair Robert Rickman,who represents Tracy, said everyone remembers where they were the exact moment Flight 11 struck the North Tower.
He was a member of the California Highway Patrol at the time, stationed out of the Stockton office, and was on vacation.
Rickman said he just returned home from fishing when he saw the airplane collide with the tower on television. Then he witnessed Flight 175 collide with the South Tower.
"We all wondered what the heck was going on," he said.
"I get a phone call telling me 'hey, you need to report back to work. We're on tactical alert. Get back here right now."
He said every law enforcement officer, every firefighter, every state official and every member of the U.S. military went back to work to protect the residents of the nation.
Rickman added that every year, the nation remembers how first responders, as well as ordinary people, helped one another escape the towers as they fell, fight off hijackers in mid-air, and search for loved ones, as well as those they didn't know, in the aftermath of the attacks.
"Every year, on this day, we look back at the heroic actions and courage of ordinary people, who in their darkest moments, reached out to help their fellow Americans, and fought back, and are being embraced as its greatest heroes," he said. "Every year, we not only pay tribute to those that ave passed away, but we also remember and pay tribute to those who carry on. We will remember and support and honor our veterans, our soldiers, our military families and our first responders and their families."
