9/11 ceremonies around LA County mark 25th anniversary of terror attacks

Honoring the victims and heroes of the deadliest day in U.S. history, scores of communities around Los Angeles County marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Friday. Observances were staged at schools, fire stations, city halls and memorials throughout the region.

Mayor Karen Bass and Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Jaime Moore joined other public safety officials at the LAFD’s 25th annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.

The ceremony at the LAFD Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center, 1700 Stadium Way, included LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna and Los Angeles County Fire Deputy Chief Robert Harris.

The ceremony included the ringing of the “10-Bells,” bagpipers and a helicopter flyover.

In San Gabriel, if it were any other Friday morning, the scene on Del Mar and Wells avenues would be happily ordinary. A boy in a blue bike and matching helmet pedals past Fire Station 51, glancing briefly at the small American flags planted on its front lawn.

A gray and red garbage truck passed the scene, but when the driver sees the clutch of police officers and firefighters gathered in front, he pulls over, engine idling, chary of unleashing a barrage of beeping and clanging and banging.

“I don’t mind disturbances like that anymore,” said retired fire chief Derrick Doehler. “Life goes on.”

Besides, the 40 or so people gathered at Fire Station 51 on this Sept. 11th, 25 years after the worst terrorist attacks in U.S history, were focused on witnessing the flag-raising, the moment of silence, coordinated with other fire stations in Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena. Knowing each person there had their own 9/11 story to tell, Fire Chief Steve Wallace said the ceremony is important, but none more so than just being together.

For retired fire chief Doehler, who woke up to the news at Fire Station 51, the   day spurred him into action. He organized the first Fill the Boot campaign in Los Angeles County on Sept. 18, 19, and 20. Firefighters standing at the corner of Las Tunas Drive and Del Mar Avenue collected $146,000 in three days. Six San Gabriel firefighters then flew to New York City on Nov. 11 to present the donation to their brothers at Station No. 7 in Manhattan.

Doehler remembers attending funerals and standing by the smoldering rubble that was the World Trade Center in Ground Zero.

“We went to one funeral, and it was the guy’s third day on the job, and there are thousands of firemen from all over in this small town in Rockaway Beach, and I found his mother, Richie Allen’s mother, holding her son’s fire helmet, and I told her, ‘We came out to honor your son,’ and I’m bawling, and she’s bawling,” Doehler said. “It was really something. It breaks me up even talking about it right now.”

Back in San Gabriel, he worked to design and build the 9/11 memorial in front of the station in time for the first year anniversary of the attacks in 2002. Retired now for eight years, and living in Tennessee, Doehler said it is gratifying to see people still coming to the annual remembrance.

“This is an important place for me,” he said. “It’s something that never leaves you.”

For Councilmember Denise Menchaca, her husband John, and their daughter Roxanne Park, every 9/11 since the day at least 2,977 people died in New York, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pa., brings its own harrowed feelings.

John Menchaca’s sister Dora, then 45, was on board American Airlines flight 77, en route to Los Angeles from Washington. D.C. Dora Menchaca had been meeting with Food and Drug Administration regulators on the development of a new prostate cancer drug. Her mission was personal: the Menchaca’s father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and would die on Oct. 10, 2001, less than a month after his daughter.

“It feels like just yesterday,” John Menchaca said. “I can still see my sister’s face. We had seen her two weekends before the tragedy and just today, I mentioned to my daughter that I can still see my sister’s smile. I feel like even though it’s been 25 years, my sister’s legacy and her spirit continues to live on through our family, but especially through her children and grandchildren.”

The family is still in mourning, Menchaca said.

“This community came out to support us so heavily during that period of time from bringing food, you know, to offers of rides, offers of care for the children, and so the fact that they came out and started doing this many, many years ago is just very special to us,” Menchaca said.

The Menchacas usually spent the 9/11 anniversaries attending the ceremony at Fire Station 51, then sitting down to breakfast, taking time to tell “Aunt Dora” stories.

For Roxanne Park, 28, who was 4 when her aunt died, the anniversary brings up feelings of empathy for her cousin Jaryd, who was 5 when his mother died. Park, whose husband Felix is deployed with the U.S. Navy, said this chapter in her family history is not something she tells people about.

“It’s not like my father, who is so deeply impacted by this because he knew his sister. He had a whole life with his sister,” Park said. “The feelings I have are very different and they’re more feelings of empathy and sympathy and sadness versus my dad’s lived experience.”

For Fire Chief Steve Wallace, 9/11 blew his life into a different trajectory. Working in the music industry on tour in 2001, but already thinking about a career in the fire service, Wallace said watching the horror unfold that day “sealed it for me.”

“I really was looking for something where I could be of service and you know it, it was like the light bulb went on,” he said. “And I finished that project and never looked back.”

Wallace said he is proud the tradition Doehler instilled in the department is marking its 25th year.

“It’s good to remember with the craziness that goes on in the world today, to remember how this country was so united right after it happened,” Wallace said. “It’s good to reflect on that and remember that’s what we’re really about.”

Nearby, in Pasadena, the city’s Fire and Police Departments hosted the city’s observance at City Hall. Mayor Victor Gordo and Police Chief Gene Harris were among the dignitaries overseeing the event, which included a “last call” bell service.

The Alhambra Fire Department held a ceremony at Fire Station 71, including the posting of colors by the Alhambra Police Department Honor Guard, an invocation and tolling of the bell.

Student cadets from Southeast Academy High School led a ceremony at John Glenn High School Football Stadium in Norwalk.

The event included a student-led flag-folding ceremony, remarks by Southeast Academy Program Director Master Sgt. Marty Schafer and a performance of the national anthem by Southeast Academy alumnus, Marine Corps veteran and R&B singer-songwriter Elliott McKenzie.

In the San Fernando Valley, L.A. Unified School District Superintendent Andrés E. Chait joined students and staff at Pacoima Middle School. The event included performances by the Pacoima Singers and a walk-by reflection display featuring hundreds of American flags.

In Malibu, Pepperdine University presented its annual Waves of Flags commemoration at Alumni Park on Pacific Coast Highway. Nearly 3,000 flags were  displayed — one for each victim of the attacks, including national flags representing foreign countries whose citizens were killed.

The Waves of Flags tradition was started by Pepperdine students in 2008. Senior Vice Chancellor Hung Le and students are expected to participate in Friday’s ceremony.

Down the coast, an American flag hung from the side of Long Beach’s Fire Station 1.

“Each year on this day, we pause to remember,” Mayor Rex Richardson said during the ceremony. “We honor the lives taken far too soon. We stand with the families who continue to carry on the weight of the loss. We offer our deepest gratitude to the first responders, members of our Armed Forces and everyday heroes who showed extraordinary courage.”

City leaders and first responders — the bulk of the 40 or so attendees were Long Beach employees — honored and remembered those who died with a Last Alarm tribute at 9:11 a.m., followed by a ceremonial wreath placement by LBPD Chief Wally Hebeish and LBFD Chief Dennis Buchanan. (Last Alarm tributes are a tradition among firefighters, marking the end of one’s duty.)

“We will never forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to others on 9/11,” Hebeish said in a statement before the event. “It’s important that we take a moment to pause and reflect on their bravery and heroism.”

A citywide moment of silence took place — residents could watch the ceremony via a livestream — bringing a hush to a usually bustling downtown. The silence was then followed by a bagpipe performance of “Amazing Grace.”

In Santa Monica, firefighters, city officials and public safety personnel gathered at Fire Station 1 for the city’s annual remembrance ceremony. The station is home to a steel artifact recovered from the World Trade Center site that is permanently displayed outside the Fire Department’s community room.

Hermosa Beach held its annual remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony at the city’s 9/11 Memorial, where the Greenbelt meets Pier Avenue.

Mayor Mike Detoy and community members delivered remarks, while the Hermosa Beach Police Department Honor Guard and Scouts Troop 860 posted the colors. Elected officials and police and fire representatives placed wreaths at the memorial, which includes a piece of steel recovered from Ground Zero.

Carson planned a 25th anniversary tribute from 4 to 6 p.m. in the City Hall parking lot, 701 E. Carson St. Acting Assistant Fire Chief Wade Kelsey was scheduled to deliver the keynote address, and the city will recognize a dozen local residents for community service.

FBI Los Angeles Assistant Director in Charge Patrick Grandy joined FBI employees, former special agents and other guests for a remembrance ceremony at the FBI’s Los Angeles offices on Wilshire Blvd.

The ceremony honored the victims of the attacks and those who served. During the week leading up to the anniversary, FBI Los Angeles employees participated in a Memorial Stair Climb honoring firefighters who climbed the World Trade Center stairwells during the attacks and a Walk of Honor in which participants completed 2,977 laps around the federal building, one for each person killed on 9/11.

The FBI also held a blood drive with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and American Red Cross as part of the anniversary observances.

The ceremonies  mark a quarter-century since 19 al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners on Sept. 11, 2001, carrying out the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.

Two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City, causing both towers to collapse, while a third struck the Pentagon. A fourth plane crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members attempted to regain control from the hijackers.

A total of 2,977 victims were killed, including 343 New York City firefighters, 37 Port Authority police officers and 23 New York police officers.

The attacks led to sweeping changes in U.S. aviation security and foreign policy and prompted the United States to launch military operations in Afghanistan less than a month later.

In Beverly Hills, Friday evening would also mark the beginning of Rosh Hashana at the Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd.

Jill Pila, whose husband, Jim Gartenberg, was killed at the World Trade Center, was scheduled to speak during an 8 p.m. service with Rabbi David Baron. Pila’s daughter, Nicole Gartenberg Pila, who was 2 1/2 years old when her father was killed, was scheduled to accompany her.

And a day after the anniversary, first responders and their families planned to gather Saturday at the Rose Bowl, where an on-field flag ceremony before UCLA’s 4:15 p.m. football game against San Diego State would honor those who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks.