Tag: 9/11 Memorial

25 years after 9/11, Indiana man who survived World Trade Center attack still making sure America never forgets

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Lower Manhattan skyline with the original World Trade Center towers

Across the country on Friday, ceremonies will honor the thousands who lost their lives 25 years ago in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and among the survivors, a Dyer, Indiana, resident is on a mission. On Sept. 11, 2001, Don Bacso was working as an IT consultant for a Chicago-based company. When American Airlines Flight 11 hit the north tower of the World Trade Center between the 93th and 94th floor, Bacso was on the 57th floor.

“I was loading software into a computer when the first plane struck. It hit at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Standard Time,” he said. “It was unbelievable. It was terrifying. You could hear beams creaking in the walls.” Bacso said the scariest moment for him was when the World Trade Center started to sway. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh my God, I am in this building, and it’s trying to fall. Which way do I run?'” he said. He ran to the stairs like many others “People were having panic attacks, asthma attacks.

Every once in a while you would hear, ‘Injured coming down, move to the right,’ and that was the first time I saw how badly burned some people were as they brought them by us,” he said. It took about half an hour for Bacso to get down the stairs, find his way through the smoke and debris, walk to his hotel, and call his young family. “I said, ‘Just know that I’m okay. I’m fine and I will come home. I will get home,'” he said. When he looks back on that day, Bacso can’t believe it’s been 25 years. “It passed by so quickly. I look back on that day and everything that I saw. I mean, the destruction, the devastation, the pain, the suffering, all that; but I saw so much courage in that, too,” he said.

He’s talking about the medical personnel, firefighters, and police officers who went into the World Trade Center after the planes hit. “I’ve never seen anything like it. They were going in and we were coming down. People have said to me in the past that, ‘You’re a hero,'” he said. “No, the heroes were going up that day. I was going down.” More than 400 emergency responders died during 9/11, the vast majority of them firefighters. Bacso’s mission the last 25 years has been doing his part to make sure America never forgets by sharing his story of survival. “We can’t forget that day. We can’t forget the sacrifice and the loss of lives from that day, and the courage and patriotism,” he said.

Bacso plans to leave a suitcase with his clothes, shoes, and World Trade Center ID badge from that day, along with other mementos, to his sons. He wants them to carry on his mission to continue sharing his story. “All these things, the badges, you know, the articles, things like that, I’ve got to turn it over to my sons for their families,” he said. “A lot of people don’t understand how precious your life is until you experience something like that.” That’s what he plans to do as long as he can, so America won’t forget “If I can express to them when I go out and speak, and talk about life, and talk about how it affected my life, I feel like it’s a great benefit to them, and it benefits me too internally,” he said.

Source: 25 years after 9/11, Indiana man who survived World Trade Center attack still making sure America never forgets – CBS Chicago

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:7-8

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Man who plants thousands of 9/11 memorial flags in West Sacramento will retire, hopes tradition lives on

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american flags on grass field

More than 2,000 miles from ground zero, thousands of flags were planted into West Sacramento soil to help sow the seeds of remembrance for the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center. It’s an annual tradition led by volunteer John Vinson, who first started a memorial at the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Locks Drive with just 14 flags in 2003.

Since then, the memorial has grown every year and now includes thousands of flags of all shapes and sizes, one to honor each of the 2,753 people who were killed when the Twin Towers collapsed, including flags for the 343 firefighters who died that day as they rushed in to try and save lives. “We have a flag for each one and the country they were from,” Vinson said. Friday marks 25 years since the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Wednesday morning, volunteers rolled up their sleeves and got to work placing each and every flag one by one. The flags stand at attention, waving at passersby along the busy stretch of Jefferson Boulevard. It is an invitation to slow down and reflect. “I think it’s just important people remember that and how precious life really is,” Vinson said. “A million tears have poured out here on this field.” Also erected on the site are two replica towers honoring the former World Trade Center. “I built these years and years ago,” Vinson said about the towers. “In fact, they’ve been touched up so many times the paint is probably thicker than the wood.”

They stand as a symbol of resolve. Vinson started the West Sacramento tradition 23 years ago and other volunteers have helped him keep the memorial growing every year since. He calls it his calling. Still, health and age have slowed Vinson down over the years. After this Friday, he will retire from the volunteer service and says he hopes to leave the tradition to be carried on by other volunteers. “That’s probably the main reason I did it one more time is because it was the 25th anniversary this year,” Vinson said.

It is entirely a volunteer effort to organize and place all of the flags and displays. Matthew Ferguson came out to help for the first time on Wednesday morning. At 23 years old, he was not alive during the 9/11 terror attacks but represents the next generation who do not remember, but recognize the events of that day all the same. “I’m very proud of my country, and I thought it’d be nice to volunteer today to help memorialize all the people who lost their lives,” said Ferguson.

Ferguson plans to join the United States Navy in the near future. Neighbors paused on Wednesday afternoon to soak it in as the display grew. Barbara Morris brought her young granddaughter and said when she sees the flags she thinks instantly of sacrifice. “It’s all the lives. All the lives lost and what they sacrificed for us,” Morris said. It has become a place to heal over the years for both those with direct connections to the 9/11 attacks and those without any. It’s been protected and preserved for decades.

“One of the things I’m really kind of strict about is I don’t let people talk about politics or religion here. I want to keep it real simple,” Vinson said. The site serves as a roadside reminder to never forget. The memorial will continue to grow over the next few days as volunteers add to it. It is expected to be finished by Friday, September 11. Anyone who wants to volunteer is welcome to come out and all are invited to stop by the site and pay their respects.

Source: Man who plants thousands of 9/11 memorial flags in West Sacramento will retire, hopes tradition lives on – CBS Sacramento

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Mark 16:15

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Boston Public Garden flags honor 2,977 lives lost in 9/11 attacks 25 years ago

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Volunteers and students came together Thursday evening in Boston’s Public Garden to plant nearly 3,000 flags, each one a tribute to the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Behind each flag is a name, a family, and a life representing the 2,977 people killed in the terrorist attacks. Twenty-five years later, the sea of red, white and blue stands on the Public Garden as a reminder to never forget. Among the flags, one is honoring Mark Bavis, who was aboard one of the two hijacked planes that took off from Boston’s Logan Airport that morning.

Teaming up with the Massachusetts 9/11 fund, his brother Patrick has now made it his mission to make sure younger generations understand what happened that day and always remember. “It seemed like yesterday,” said Patrick Bavis. “The young kids are the future of this country, they got to understand that life isn’t fair and people get taken from you. For us in Boston, 206 victims were taken that day.” Helping put the display together were the Navy Junior ROTC at John D. O’Bryant School and Scouting America who were learning while remembering.

“I want to give them my respects as well as honor them because that’s a really big moment in our history even though it wasn’t the best one, it’s something we all want to pay attention to,” said ROTC student Karissa Jean-Michel. The impact of 9/11 heightens our appreciation for our first responders and service members like retired Air Force Gen. Jonathan Treacy, who commanded Otis Air National Guard Base fighter jets to respond to the attacks. “It’s a little surreal, 25 years have gone so very fast,” said Treacy.

“Those lessons that we’ve learned from 9/11 aren’t something that get passed on unless every generation has a sense for what happened, why it happened, the incredible impact of what happened and the loss of life.” And as long as the flags stand, they also symbolize the resolve of our country after one of its darkest days. “Nineteen terrorists took us to our knees that day, yeah they beat us that day, but the next day America came back, and I want the students today to understand that we can be strong together,” said Bavis.

The 9/11 commemoration events start at the State House on Friday at 8:30 a.m. with a reading of the names of the 219 victims with ties to Massachusetts, a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., and the presentation of the Madeline “Amy” Sweeney Award for Civilian Bravery inside the House Chamber.

Source: Boston Public Garden flags honor 2,977 lives lost in 9/11 attacks 25 years ago – CBS Boston

Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:3

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Flight 93 Memorial ceremonies today mark 25 years since 9/11

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american flags on the field

Today marks 25 years since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and observance ceremonies will be held at the Flight 93 Memorial near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to remember the lives lost that day.

Nearly 3,000 people died and thousands more were injured as terrorists carried out coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center skyscrapers in New York and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.  United Airlines Flight 93 was headed for the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., but the passengers and crew members fought back, leading to the plane crashing into an empty field in Somerset County. 

Remembrance ceremonies will begin at 8:30 a.m. near the Wall of Names. They are expected to run until 10:30 a.m. and will include a reflection on all the attacks from 25 years ago, the reading of the names of the Flight 93 passengers and crew, and the Bells of Remembrance will be rung in their honor.  

A memorial wall made of marble panels, featuring engraved names and a small bouquet of flowers placed at its base, along with a figurine.

SHANKSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA – SEPTEMBER 11: Flowers are placed at the Wall of Names during a ceremony commemorating the 23rd anniversary of the crash of Flight 93 during the September 11th terrorist attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial on September 11, 2024 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.  / Getty Images

The afternoon ceremony, scheduled from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., will feature remarks, keynote speakers, music and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Wall of Names. Then, on Saturday, at 7:30 p.m., there will be 40 candle lanterns brought to the Wall of Names as the sun goes down. Thousands of people are expected to attend today’s events at the Flight 93 National Memorial. 

Source: Flight 93 Memorial ceremonies today mark 25 years since 9/11 attacks – CBS Pittsburgh

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
Luke 9:16-17

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