On September 11, 2023, Los Angeles County joined the nation in commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, many of whom were aboard three flights bound for Los Angeles International Airport. Across the Southland, various events and ceremonies were held to honor and remember the victims and the first responders who risked their lives to save others.
One of the main events was a ceremony at the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center, which is home to a 23-ton steel column that was part of the World Trade Center’s south tower. Mayor Eric Garcetti and Fire Chief Kristin Crowley rang 10 bells, a traditional fire service signal for the end of duty, to mark the moment when the first plane hit the north tower at 8:46 a.m. EDT.
The ceremony also included bagpipers, a helicopter flyover, and speeches by Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, acting Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone, and members of the LAFD who were deployed to Ground Zero on 9/11.
Los Angeles County will remember and honor the 9/11 anniversary:
LA County to mark 9/11 anniversary https://t.co/ZWB2SOTF5D
— KCAL News (@kcalnews) September 11, 2023
Other events in LA County included a pancake breakfast hosted by the El Segundo Fire Department, a moment of silence observed by the city of Long Beach, an informal ceremony and an evening remembrance at the Beverly Hills Memorial Garden, and a sculpture exhibit titled “911: Vignettes of Emotion” by artist A. Thomas Schomberg at the Holocaust Museum LA.
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Many residents also visited memorial sites such as the “Wave of Flags” display at Pepperdine University, where 2,977 flags representing each victim were planted on the lawn, and the Rosemead’s Sept. 11 Memorial at Civic Center Plaza, where a flag raising, a parade of state flags and a wreath-laying took place.
The 9/11 anniversary was not only a time to mourn and reflect, but also a time to celebrate and appreciate the resilience and unity of the American people. As Mayor Garcetti said in his speech at the LAFD ceremony, “We are here today to say that we will never forget those who we lost, those who we love, those who we honor. And we are here today to say that we will never give up on our ideals, our values, our democracy.”
