Two San Diego ceremonies honored 9/11 victims with Ground Zero first responder sharing emotional story of survival and guilt.
SAN DIEGO — Twenty-four years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, San Diego County communities gathered Thursday at two separate ceremonies to honor the 2,977 lives lost and ensure the memories of that tragic day endure.
Hundreds attended an afternoon memorial aboard the USS Midway Museum, while in the morning, first responders and students gathered at National City Fire Department Station 34 for the community’s annual remembrance ceremony.
At the Midway, retired New York Fire Department EMS officer David Blacksberg shared his firsthand account of responding to the World Trade Center attacks. Blacksberg, who witnessed the first plane hit the north tower from his Brooklyn station, was among the first to establish an incident command post and spent 47 hours straight rescuing burn victims.
“Every year it’s the week of, not just the date September 11, that I go through and process and understand that I am blessed and lucky enough to be here,” said Blacksberg, who moved to San Diego 10 years ago. “I’m a survivor and at that point I still have and understand that survivors guilt is real and I still feel like I should have and could have done more.”
The National City ceremony, led by retired FDNY firefighter Robert Allen who volunteered in the aftermath of the attacks, drew first responders, retired New York firefighters now living in San Diego, and students from elementary through high school.
Allen, who organizes the annual event, said reading the victims’ names each year has become part of his healing process.
“I have to work with the names every day and every September, I’m calling out the names, reading the names all the time — that’s helped so I don’t get as emotional,” Allen said.
Rebecca Ortiz, who brought students to the National City ceremony, said the children were eager to learn about the historical moment that occurred before they were born.
“They love learning, they had questions before we got here and seeing it all right in front of them — they really enjoyed it,” Ortiz said.
The attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington and crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers.
The USS Midway Museum event included reading the names, moments of silence and the presentation of colors by honor guards. American flags flew prominently at both locations as community members, many wearing FDNY and first responder gear, paid their respects.
For Blacksberg, who doesn’t like to be alone on Sept. 11, the ceremonies provide essential community support as he continues processing his experience as a Ground Zero first responder.