The Pine Bluff Fire & Emergency Services Department will hold its annual 9/11 observance beginning with a moment of silence at the fire stations at 8:58 a.m. Sunday.
The purpose is to honor the first responders who died Sept. 11, 2001, during terrorist attacks in New York, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.
“In memory of our fallen brothers and sisters, we commemorate that day with a ceremony held on the anniversary, which falls on Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. The public is welcome to join by stopping at your local fire station,” according to a news release.
The ceremony is as follows:
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
MOMENT OF SILENCE: Sunday — Sept. 11
8:58 a.m.
• All available fire department personnel assemble at attention in front of the station flag pole (or a central location in front of the building.)
• Company officer or chaplain, if present, may choose to make brief remarks.
• Lower flag according to local, state or national proclamation.
• Community involvement is welcome.
• When assembled, maintain silence.
8:59 a.m.
Time of the South Tower collapse at New York; Sirens sound for one minute.
9 a.m.
One minute of complete silence. Dismissed.
9/11 HISTORY
“The Sept. 11 attacks (often referred to as September 11th or 9/11) were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the United States on Sept. 11, 2001,” according to the news release.
“On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the buildings. Both buildings collapsed within two hours, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., just outside Washington, D.C.
“The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, D.C. There were no survivors from any of the flights. Three hundred forty-six firefighters and paramedics were killed during the September 11th attacks. They didn’t concern themselves with their own safety but unselfishly were more concerned about others even to the point of losing their lives,” according to the release.