The 20th anniversary of 9/11 was observed in Springfield, Massachusetts with a moving ceremony Friday evening.
The 9/11 remembrance ceremony was timed to end at sunset to showcase the city’s 9/11 memorial. It features a 9.5-foot steel beam from the World Trade Center and a bronze wall engraved with the names of 498 first responders who died in the terrorist attacks.
As Vanessa Ford sang “Hero”, spotlights on the artifact cast the silhouette of twin towers on the wall. The names engraved on the wall were scrolled on a large video screen.
Held in Riverfront Park, the ceremony included the laying of a wreath, a rifle salute, the tolling of bells and a roll out of dozens of pieces of emergency vehicles crossing the Memorial Bridge over the Connecticut River.
The ceremony featured remarks, on video, from former President George W. Bush.
“After twenty years, the memories of 9/11 have started to fade,” Mr. Bush said. “Thank you for remembering.”
Springfield’s Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood and Fire Commissioner Bernard Calvi paid tribute to the public safety professionals who sacrificed their lives on 9/11 to safe thousands of people.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno commented that after the country was attacked on 9/11 Americans came together, but the current public health crisis has driven us apart.
“We seem to be a divided country and that is not good for the United States of America,” Sarno said.
About 200 people attended the ceremony.
Yolanda Daley of Chicopee said the remembrance was “beautiful and something you don’t forget.”
On Sunday, Springfield Bishop William Byrne will commemorate the anniversary of 9/11 with a 10 a.m. mass at Saint Michael’s Cathedral.
