Smoke rises from Lower Manhattan as USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) sails into New York Harbor on Sept. 14, 2001.
(File photo by Fleet Combat Camera Atlantic photographer PH2 Aaron Peterson)
On the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum, groups of firefighters on Thursday will commemorate the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Midway event is one of several in the county memorializing the 2001 tragedy.
The Fire Department of New York Retirees of San Diego, along with the Midway, the San Diego and National City fire departments, San Diego Firefighter’s Emerald Society and The Wounded Warrior Project, will “pay tribute to our fallen heroes and keep our promise to Never Forget.”
The ceremony aboard the ship, which begins at 2:30 p.m., will include honor guards, the playing of the National Anthem, a reading of the names of 441 first responders who died in the attacks, tolling of the ship’s bells, a helicopter flyover and a 21-gun salute
Admission to the museum for the event is free between 1:45 and 3 p.m.
Additionally, South Bay business leaders will recognize the efforts of first responders with free meals.
To honor the bravery and sacrifice of firefighters and police officers, the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, Seven Mile Casino and spokesman Pedro Anaya have teamed up with local businesses to provide free breakfast, lunch and dinner to every fire and police station in Chula Vista, Bonita and Imperial Beach, as well as at Chula Vista police headquarters.
Dozens of businesses and organizations are participating in the event, including South Bay institutions such as Lolita’s Mexican Food, South County EDC, Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center and Sammy’s at Seven Mile Casino.
Additional events include:
- The University of San Diego will host its annual 9/11 Remembrance and Interfaith Prayer for Peace at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice theater, at 8:30 a.m.
- HandsOn San Diego will host the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance. Volunteers can lend a hand at numerous nonprofits throughout the region. Opportunities include supporting rescued farm animals in Escondido, helping at farmers markets in North Park and Rancho Peñasquitos, serving dinner at the safe parking program in Spring Valley, mentoring youth musicians in Point Loma and cleaning and feeding horses in Dulzura.
- The U.S. Customs and Border Protection San Diego Field Office will commemorate the anniversary with a brief halt in northbound traffic at four land ports of entry at 5:46 a.m. PST – the same moment Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower. The San Ysidro, Otay Mesa, Tecate and Calexico West ports of entry will participate. Normal traffic operations will resume immediately following the brief ceremony.
- On Naval Base San Diego, members of the armed forces can climb the Pacific Beacon Towers in the Climb to Remember event beginning at 8 a.m., along with the U.S. Navy’s Federal Fire Team.
- The Travis Manion Foundation hosts the 9/11 Heroes Run in NTC Park at Liberty Station to honor the heroes of 9/11 and the service members from the wars that followed, including Manion, a Marine who was killed in action in Iraq in 2007. The run will feature a traditional 5K run, but also the option for runners to carry gear in the Ruck race.
On Aug. 30, Firefighter Aid held its annual San Diego Memorial Stair Climb. A total of 676 climbers raised more than $50,000 by climbing 110 flights of stairs, the same number as in the World Trade Center towers. Each wore the name of a fallen emergency responder whose life was lost that day.
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