Firefighters Commemorate 9/11 Anniversary
An American flag hung somberly from the raised ladder of a Lexington firetruck Friday morning as a small crowd of people gathered to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack that destroyed New York City’s World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon, the national headquarters of the U.S. military, in Washington, D.C.
The 25th anniversary commemoration marked a milestone that feels both far away and painfully close to many who witnessed the terrible events in 2001, when nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.
In a moving speech, LFD Lt. Jonathan Bowden reminded everyone of the weight of that day. Bowden was only 17 years old and a volunteer firefighter in Craigsville in Augusta County at the time, but like millions of others around the world, he remembers the events with devastating clarity: two hijacked airliners crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City, another crashing into the Pentagon, and a fourth plane going down in a field in Pennsylvania after heroic passengers interrupted a hijacking that was likely also aimed for the nation’s capital.
“Twenty-five years have passed, and for some, September 11th is now history, a day they learned about in school or a day they heard about from their parents and grandparents,” Bowden said. “But for many here, the memories remain vivid. We remember where we were. We remember watching the events unfold. We remember the shock, the disbelief and heartbreak.”
Bowden said that no matter how much time has passed, firefighters are a collective family, and the loss of more than 300 firefighters still resonates in stations all over America today.
“There’s always something that reflects back on 9/11, and it’s one of the most significant incidents in the history of the fire service,” Bowden said.
Also in attendance at the event was Tom Capito, who was born in Lexington and grew up in New Jersey. He was a volunteer firefighter and EMT living about 45 minutes from New York City’s downtown Manhattan when the Twin Towers were hit. His squad rushed to the scene, but Capito said that from the moment they arrived, there wasn’t much they could do.
“There was nothing to rescue,” he said, the emotion evident in his voice all these years later.
What Capito saw in his time at the scene of destruction, standing atop a mountain of debris, is still vivid in his mind. “At one point when I was walking across the structures of the building, I looked down, and 20 feet below me was a crushed fire engine,” he said. “So, what we were walking across was 30 feet above the ground.”
Shortly after Capito arrived, volunteers were asked to leave the site, but Capito said he still remembers people trying to pitch in and help wherever they could.
“There were scores of people who had no training and were not firefighters and were not EMTs but wanted to help,” Capito said. “They were taking equipment, supplies, and food and just passing it down the line.”
After the ceremony, firefighters gathered on couches in the station’s garage, patting each other on the back in support and waiting for the next call.
