On the 13th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks Thursday, Vancouver city officials recalled the events and sacrifices of that day. Remembrance ceremonies around the country came on the heels of President Barack Obama’s announcement to the nation Wednesday night that he’ll authorize direct attacks against the Islamic State.
“We can no longer continue with the status quo,” Vancouver’s Larry Smith said about the counterterrorism strategy. The city councilor and mayor pro tem addressed a crowd gathered next to Vancouver City Hall around noon Thursday, and led the group through the Pledge of Allegiance.
As the Vancouver Police Department’s honor guard posted the colors, the national and state flags flapped fiercely in the strong wind.
Emergency dispatch traffic softly murmured from the radios of firefighters attending the event — a reminder that the area’s emergency responders are always on watch.
Smith spoke about the terrorist attacks, where 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaida hijacked four commercial airliners and intentionally crashed into U.S. targets.
Two of the planes were flown into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City; a third plane hit the west side of the Pentagon outside Washington. The fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. It’s believed that crew members and passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 learned what was happening and revolted against the hijackers, leading the plane to crash short of its target.
More than 2,700 people died at the World Trade Center, including hundreds of firefighters and paramedics and several police officers who struggled to evacuate people from the buildings before they collapsed.
Nearly 10,000 others were injured.
“Our lives changed forever,” Smith said. “It’s the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.”
Vancouver fire captains Dave James and Perry LeDoux rang the fire bell typically used at firefighter memorials to remember those lost lives. Traditionally, firehouse bells signaled the end of an alarm or the end of a watch.
Many people can recall the thoughts, feelings and experiences they had on Sept. 11, 2001, as though it were yesterday. People were going about their daily routine like any other day, Smith said. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, he said, came a renewed “sense of caring, togetherness and patriotism” throughout the nation.
Vancouver Firefighters Pipes and Drums played “Amazing Grace” as honor guard members raised the U.S. flag in front of City Hall. As they lowered it to half-staff, an airliner bound for Portland International Airport flew overhead, its rumble resonating in the courtyard as everyone stood in silence.
