Worry and uncertainty mounted as news trickled into Randy McKnight’s school, H-B Woodlawn in Arlington, about planes crashing into New York skyscrapers and later at the Pentagon on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.
“I just remember it so vividly. They couldn’t get in touch,” McKnight said in an interview.
Wednesday morning, 23 years to the day after the attack, the 80-year-old retiree’s eyes misted with emotion as flags were lowered to half-staff during a ceremony outside the Ellen M. Bozman County Government Center. Dozens attended the Arlington County event, which was one of several ceremonies held across the D.C. region to remember the lives lost that day.
He had watched 9/11 ceremonies many times online or television, but this week he decided to come in person to honor “the courage and commitment of all the first responders.”
“I feel like I have to witness for those innocent people who died, not only that day but in the wars that spawned out of that evil act,” McKnight said.
Sunshine shimmered across the polished the deep red of an Arlington County Fire Department ladder truck and the ceremonial axes of an honor guard Wednesday morning. Dress blues and white gloves were the uniform of the day as police and fire officials silently stood shoulder to shoulder.
“It is a memory of a moment in history, when the world as we knew it changed forever,” Arlington Fire Department Capt. David Santini told those gathered at the event.
At precisely 9:37 a.m. the procession fell silent to recognize the moment Flight 77 crashed into the military headquarters and killed 184 people.
Heads bowed.
“As we pause each year on this anniversary to remember, their families are reminded of their loss every day,” Santini said.
Santini described 20 days of toil by county firefighters and police to save lives and extinguish flames, but also the toll endured by the effects of cancer and illness long after the attack.
Public safety leaders carried a wreath beneath flagpoles where the honor guard lowered the U.S. and Virginia flags to half-staff.
The familiar somber tones of “Taps” echoed across the scene.
Arlington Deputy Police Chief Wayne Vincent said rituals are key reminders for not only remembering lives lost but communal connection.
“Ceremonies like this really truly bring to heart ‘never forget,’ ” Vincent said in an interview. “Never forget those in public safety who were lost both here, in Shanksville and New York and also what this community went through.” He urged people to “continue to come together to celebrate those who were lost.”
At the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Northwest, where the names of fallen officers are etched in stone, dozens of law enforcement officials gathered to pay homage in an afternoon ceremony.
U.S. Capitol Police Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict and D.C. police Assistant Chief Jeffrey Carroll led a handful of guests who read the names of officers who died on Sept. 11 or because of illnesses as a result of their service in the rubble in Manhattan and the Pentagon. As each speaker finished reading their list of the fallen, a bell tolled in their honor.
Speakers praised the courage police and firefighters who not only rushed into the danger but stayed for days within the danger zone.
The list began with 72 officers who were killed in the initial hours and days of the attacks, said Bill Alexander, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. But injuries, cancer and related illnesses from exposure to toxins that day have added more than 400 names to the memorial’s panels. “And counting,” Alexander told the crowd.
Keynote speaker Pat Montuore, the founder and CEO of Police Unity Tour, lamented the loss of teaching the history of Sept. 11 in schools and to future generations. He urged the crowd to honor those who willingly sacrificed for others and their survivors with a singular, lasting act.
“Remember,” Montuore said. “I love you all. God bless. Stay safe. And make sure you remember.”
