To remember the loss of first responders and civilians on 9/11, community members gathered in Turners Falls and Greenfield on Thursday, reflecting on 24 years since the national tragedy.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Al Qaeda militants hijacked four passenger airplanes and flew them into various targets across the Northeast in coordinated attacks. Two planes — American Airlines Flight 11 and United Flight 175 from Boston Logan Airport — crashed into both towers at the World Trade Center in New York City.
The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, was struck by United Airlines Flight 77, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks. Of these, 441 were first responders, counting firefighters, law enforcement officers, military personnel and paramedics.
Since the attacks, 4,343 people, including first responders, cleanup crews and civilians, have died from illnesses associated with exposure to the dust and debris left behind after the collapse of the Twin Towers.
In Turners Falls, members of the Turners Falls Fire Department, Montague Center Fire Department and Montague Police Department held a remembrance ceremony at the Montague Public Safety Complex on Turnpike Road.
The Turners Falls ceremony began with Montague Center Assistant Fire Chief Richard Sawin and Fire Capt. Mark Fisk raising, then lowering, the flag to half-staff.
Turners Falls Fire Chief Todd Brunelle spoke following Turners Falls Fire Capt. Kyle Cogswell’s reading of “The Firefighters Prayer” and Montague Police Sgt. James Deery’s reading of “The Police Officer’s Prayer,” sharing how each year he reflects on what to share during a ceremony.
“We always say, ‘Never forget, never forgotten,’ but what I want to focus on is, what are we not forgetting? And what should we always remember?” Brunelle asked. “What comes to me that I want to remember are the positives.”
These positives, Brunelle said, came from the unity Americans experienced after the attack. He said people came together, regardless of dividing lines, to support each other. Two decades later, he believes people can, and should, care for one another regardless of political affiliation or background.
“Today, that’s what I’m asking you, to remember that we’re all Americans. We’re all in this together,” he said. “Remember those that were lost, and remember the person to your left and your right is your brother and sister. Treat them as such, and we can continue to grow and be the best that we all can be as a nation, as a school, as departments, as citizens.”
Also present at the ceremony were members of the Turners Falls High School Student Council, who were not yet born at the time of the attacks. Council President Estes Lemerise-Reinking said to him, learning about what happened is important, as it impacted so many others.
“It’s more than a thing that we learned about in school,” he said. “It’s meaningful, and a lot of people were around when it happened. It’s important to connect with those people to know what happened.”
Council Advisor Beth Fortin felt similarly, having experienced 9/11 herself. To her, the students’ participation is meaningful so they can understand the impact of the attacks.
“We continue to teach the young people that weren’t around during that time to let them understand the importance of the day and what came out of the day,” she said. “All the firefighters, police officers, countless people, [and] how they went in when everybody else was going out.”
Elsewhere in Franklin County, about 20 people gathered outside the Greenfield Fire Station at 41 Main St., where Greenfield Fire Chief Robert Strahan delivered remarks to honor the sacrifice his brothers and sisters made nearly a quarter-century ago.
“Twenty-four years ago today was not unlike today — blue skies, clear, warm day,” he said. “People in the city of New York woke up to vote in their [primary] elections, and nobody realized that the world, the city of New York, the country, would change forever.
“We have new hallowed ground because of this day 24 years ago — from the Pentagon in Virginia, to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the great city of New York, in lower Manhattan,” he continued. “We need to take time out of this crazy world that we live in now to remember that we are one country, we are in one world, as we want nothing but peace and prosperity.”
The ceremony included the playing of taps, a moment of silence and a reading of “The Firefighters Prayer” by Greenfield Deputy Fire Chief Peter McIver, who also chimed a bell in four rounds of five tolls, which the FDNY uses to signal a firefighter’s death in the line of duty. Also, an American flag was raised and then lowered to half-staff.
At the Greenfield firehouse property rests “Fearless,” one of 13 bee sculptures in downtown Greenfield. The sculpture consists of a bee dressed as a firefighter, complete with a 3D-printed airpack and helmet. What residents may not know, though, is that the bee’s helmet is a tribute to 9/11 as it bears the number 343 — how many firefighters were killed that day.
“The inspiration was the Fire Department and we wanted to have a bee outside in the form of a firefighter,” said Sandy Thomas, who created the design with Rachael Katz. The bee was brought to life in Chicago and shipped to Greenfield, where Andrew Easton painted it. “Now we have a permanent recognition that [9/11] is something we will never forget.”
