Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Americans Pay Tribute to Victims of 9/11 Terror Attacks
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
September 12, 2022

Share

 

The loss still felt immediate to Bonita Mentis, who wore a necklace with a photo of her slain sister, Shevonne Mentis.

“It’s been 21 years, but it’s not 21 years for us. It seems like just yesterday,” she said before reading victims’ names at the World Trade Center to a crowd that included Vice President Kamala Harris and husband Doug Emhoff.

At the Pentagon, which also was targeted on 9/11, President Joe Biden vowed that the U.S. would continue working to root out terrorist plots and called on Americans to stand up for “the very democracy that guarantees the right to freedom that those terrorists on 9/11 sought to bury in the burning fire, smoke and ash.” First lady Jill Biden spoke at the third attack site, a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

On Sept. 11, 2001, conspirators from the al-Qaida Muslim militant group seized control of jets to use them as passenger-filled missiles, hitting the trade center’s twin towers and the Pentagon. The fourth plane was headed for Washington but crashed near Shanksville after crew members and passengers tried to storm the cockpit.

The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, reconfigured national security policy and spurred a U.S. “war on terror” worldwide. Sunday’s observances came little more than a month after a U.S. drone strike killed a key al-Qaida figure who helped plot 9/11, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Pierre Roldan, who lost his cousin Carlos Lillo, a paramedic, said “we had some form of justice” when a U.S. raid killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.

“Now that al-Zawahri is gone, at least we’re continuing to get that justice,” Roldan said.

The sun rises on the California 9-11 Memorial on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 in Clovis (Facebook/California 9-11 Memorial)

Large Crowd in Clovis

A large crowd paid their respects and shared their vow to “never forget” at the California 9-11 Memorial in Clovis on Sunday.

Todd Beamer
Todd Beamer

The ceremony included the playing of the audio dispatch from the first plane to hit the twin towers, the ringing of the “end of call” bell, and the laying of wreaths to recognize New York first-responders who lost their lives in service that day.

About 20 different law enforcement and military agencies attended the event.

Lt. Commander Otis Vincent Tolbert Jr.
Lt. Commander Otis Vincent Tolbert Jr.

The final words of United passenger Todd Beamer — “let’s roll” — became a national catchphrase. Beamer, a former Fresno State student, was one of several passengers who attempted to regain control of the jet from the highjackers.

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Otis Vincent Tolbert Jr., a Lemoore native and former Fresno State football player, was killed the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, when the passenger plane American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon where he worked.

 

9-11 Mastermind Still Awaits Military Tribunal

The self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, still awaits a long-postponed military tribunal. An attorney for one of Mohammed’s co-defendants this week confirmed ongoing negotiations toward a potential agreement to avoid a trial and impose lesser but still lengthy sentences.

The Sept. 11 attacks stirred — for a time — a sense of national pride and unity for many, while also subjecting Muslim Americans to years of suspicion and bigotry and engendering debate over the balance between safety and civil liberties. In ways both subtle and plain, the aftermath of 9/11 ripples through American politics and public life to this day.

But like some other victims’ relatives, Jay Saloman fears that Americans’ consciousness of 9/11 is receding.

“It was a terrorist attack against our country that day. And theoretically, everybody should remember it and, you know, take precautions and watch out,” said Saloman, who lost his brother, Wayne Saloman.

By tradition, no political figures speak at the ground zero ceremony. The observance centers, instead, on relatives reading aloud the names of the dead.

Like a growing number of readers, Brooke Walsh-DiMarzio wasn’t born yet when her relative died. But she took the podium to honor her grandmother, Barbara Walsh.

“I’m here today to represent generation 9/12, those who never experienced 9/11 but still suffer the aftermath of it,” Walsh-DiMarzio said. “We will never, ever forget.”

Nikita Shah wore a T-shirt that bore the de facto epigraph of the annual commemoration — “never forget” — and the name of her father, Jayesh Shah. She was 10 when he was killed.

The family later moved to Houston but often returns to New York for the anniversary to be “around people who kind of experienced the same type of grief and the same feelings after 9/11,” said Shah.

A rose at the reflecting pool during the commemoration ceremony on the 21st anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022, in New York. (AP /Stefan Jeremiah)

The Splintering of Post 9-11 Unity

Readers often add personal remarks that form an alloy of American sentiments about Sept. 11 — grief, anger, toughness, appreciation for first responders and the military, appeals to patriotism, hopes for peace, occasional political barbs, and a poignant accounting of the graduations, weddings, births and daily lives that victims have missed. A few readers note recent events, this year ranging from the still ongoing coronavirus pandemic to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Some relatives also lament that a nation which came together after the attacks has since splintered apart. Federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies, which were reshaped to focus on international terrorism after 9/11, now see the threat of domestic violent extremism as equally urgent.

“It took a tragedy to unite us. It should not take another tragedy to unite us again,” said Andrew Colabella, whose cousin, John DiGiovanni, died in the 1993 bombing World Trade Center bombing that presaged 9/11.

Communities around the country marked the day with candlelight vigils, interfaith services, and other commemorations, and some Americans joined in volunteer projects. Others observed the anniversary with their own reflections.

More than 70 of Sekou Siby’s co-workers perished at Windows on the World, the restaurant atop the trade center’s north tower. He had the day off because another cook asked him to switch shifts.

“Every 9/11 is a reminder of what I lost that I can never recover,” says Siby, now president of ROC United, a restaurant workers’ advocacy group. He said ahead of the anniversary that the attacks made him wary of becoming attached to people when “you have no control over what’s going to happen to them next.”

Ginny Barnett volunteered at the Shanksville site after the attacks and struggled for years to come to terms with the tragedy. She gradually found hope by volunteering for the memorial there now.

“I have seen firsthand the evil that man can do, but I have also seen the good that man can do,” Barnett said Sunday. “With God’s help, we can focus on and foster good, rather than let hate and anger consume us.”

(GV Wire contributed to this article.)

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Timberwolves Push Lakers to Edge of Elimination With Comeback Win

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Overcome Early Deficit for Victory Over the Pirates

DON'T MISS

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

DON'T MISS

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

DON'T MISS

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

DON'T MISS

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

DON'T MISS

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

DON'T MISS

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

UP NEXT

Dodgers Overcome Early Deficit for Victory Over the Pirates

UP NEXT

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

UP NEXT

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

UP NEXT

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

UP NEXT

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

UP NEXT

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

UP NEXT

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

UP NEXT

Wall Street Mixed in Start to Busy Week for Earnings, Data

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

16 minutes ago

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

25 minutes ago

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

30 minutes ago

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

38 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

53 minutes ago

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

1 hour ago

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

1 hour ago

Wall Street Mixed in Start to Busy Week for Earnings, Data

1 hour ago

Will California Meet Newsom’s 2035 EV Deadline? It Won’t Even Hit the 2026 Target 

1 day ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

2 days ago

Timberwolves Push Lakers to Edge of Elimination With Comeback Win

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have found a new gear after a regular season of fits and starts. Jaden McDaniels converted a three-...

42 seconds ago

43 seconds ago

Timberwolves Push Lakers to Edge of Elimination With Comeback Win

5 minutes ago

Dodgers Overcome Early Deficit for Victory Over the Pirates

Injured African migrants lie on hospital beds after a strike hit a detention centre hosting African migrants, in Saada, Yemen April 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Naif Rahma)
9 minutes ago

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

Norway officially established diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine on Thursday, April 24, 2025, strengthening its support for Palestinian independence amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. (Shutterstock)
16 minutes ago

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

Kim Kardashian arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 97th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., March 2, 2025. (REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo)
25 minutes ago

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) reacts after dunking over Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP/Jeffrey Phelps)
30 minutes ago

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

fresno
38 minutes ago

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

Naomi Kaylynn Acker is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for April 28, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
53 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend