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Bellaire community gathers to remember 9/11 victims

By BY GAGE VOTA 4 min read

BELLAIRE - Bellaire Volunteer Fire Department honored the many citizens who died in the 9/11 tragedy 25 years ago Friday.

The village honored the dead by hosting a ceremony at 34th Street from 8:30-11 a.m.

The ceremony had a moment of silence for each exact time that the terrorist attacks occurred at New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

"We have all the times for when the plane struck the towers, when they struck in PA, also the times when each tower fell. So we will be doing a moment of silence. It lasts all the way from the first strike at 8:46 a.m. until almost 11 a.m.," Captain John Richards said.

At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the western side of the Pentagon. At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. At 10:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew fought the hijackers.

And at 10:28 a.m., the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.

Friday is the first public memorial ceremony that the fire department has held, but it hopes to continue next year.

"This is our first year doing something of this scale. We’ve always got together as firefighters, and took that day for us and for the people that were lost. But this is our first time going public and doing this for everybody," Fire Chief John Richards said. "It’s always been important to us, but being the 25-year anniversary, we wanted to make it special."

He added that following the aftermath of 9/11, the nation promised to never forget and he wants to make sure that we all live up to that promise.

"Everybody always said they promised that they wouldn’t forget. So we wanted to make sure we did something for veterans and the fire service members that survived that day, and also for the ones that were lost and their families and friends," Richards said. "It's also informational for all the people in the village. We got people from the school here. It’s very important that everybody understands what took place on that day."

Bellaire High School students and Speiro Academy students were in attendance at the ceremony, as well as residents and village officials.

Mayor Robert Dodrill said that he was contacted earlier this past week by the fire department about hosting the ceremony, which he thought was a great idea.

"They called me and told them that it was an awesome thing to do to represent the United States of America too, as far as putting the flag up to display and paying respect to all of the people who lost their lives on 9/11," Dodrill said. "And with it being the 25th anniversary, it is special and I'm glad they were able to honor them."

He added that as an Air Force veteran, 9/11 holds a special place in his heart and he wants to continue to honor and pay respect to all of the victims who died on Sept. 11, 2001.

"I think this is really appropriate to do to pay tribute to all of the people who died," Dodrill said.

He added that Friday's event was very well attended, especially due to it being organized with short notice.

"I’m excited to see all of the people come out. I know it’s a somber time, but I’m just excited for all of the people who came out and showed their respect for all the people that lost their lives on 9/11," Dodrill said.

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