The Bay Area joined in the national day of mourning, 13 years after two planes slammed into the twin towers and the Pentagon killing nearly 3,000 people on Sept. 11, 2001.
In San Jose, Fire Station No. 1 held a small ceremony in the wee hours of Thursday morning, ringing a bell and putting out wreaths to mark the terrorist attacks. In San Francisco, a similar ceremony was held at Station No. 7.
Of those who died, there were about 400 New York City firefighters, paramedics, police and Port Authority workers who died that day. And the anniversary has become a time to thank the nation's first responders who protect and serve the public on a regular basis.
'We are eternally grateful for the work you've done and continue to do,' San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said at the somber ceremony.
And in Union City, Michael L. Emerson planned to host an annual Flight 93 memorial at 10 a.m. to honor those who died on that United flight that crashed over Shanksville, Pennsylvania carrying some of the well-known heroes of that day.
Two of those heroes hailed from the Bay Area: Tom Burnett, a CEO of a medical devices company who lived in San Ramon and Mark Bingham, a PR executive who lives in Los Gatos. Those two, along with Jeremy Click and Todd Beamer, are credited for trying to fend off the terrorists before their plane went down.
Michael L. Emerson
Beamer is the one credited with uttering the now-famous words 'Let's Roll,' to others on the plane before hatching a plan to storm the cockpit and take over the plane.
The memorial, however remembers everyone on board that day with a 'remembrance stone' exemplifying, Emerson said, the fact that 'each person was more than just a moment in history, or a victim linked to such a horrifying event. The memorial has put a face to each soul lost on that fateful flight.'
NBC Bay Area's Stephanie Chuang contributed to this report.
Posted by Unknown on Thursday, September 11, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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