City officials, first responders and community members gathered in downtown Gainesville on Monday morning for a ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.
Two moments of silence were observed at 8:46 a.m. and 9:03 a.m. in honor of when each of the North and South Twin Towers were struck by commercial airliners.
“Sixty seconds is a long time,” Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward said after the first silence. “Twenty-three years has been a long time. Sometimes it feels like yesterday, but it was 23 years ago.”
A joint honor guard from the Gainesville Fire Rescue and Gainesville Police Department placed an American flag and Florida flag in front of the City Hall steps, where a photo of the Twin Towers and another of two beams of light shining in their place faced the crowd of over 100.
The guard led everyone in the pledge of allegiance before various speakers from the community stood between the flags to share sentiments about where they were on the day 23 years ago, and how people should continue reflecting and responding moving forward.
Rev. Graham Glover, senior pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church and School, gave a blessing for the departed from chapter 41 of Isaiah in the Bible and shared that for the last 17 years he has served on active duty and in the reserves of the United States Army directly in response to 9/11.
Alachua County Sherriff Emery Gainey said seeing pictures of the World Trade Center have a “particular significance” after having visited in 1997 with a group of classmates during his time at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Gainey reflected on the 2,977 lives lost on that day, as well as the thousands of others who laid down their lives by enlisting, are battling residual physical effects of any smoke and debris, or still bear emotional loss from that day. He also noted the distinct way the country unashamedly came together after the tragedy.
“We put politics aside, personal differences aside and came together by a common mission,” Gainey said. “Oh so much how much I long for us to do that today, come together by a common mission.”
Rabbi David Kaiman from the Congregation B’nai Israel spoke on being in New York on Sept. 11, 2001, and ministering prayers of comfort to the first victims escaping the falling buildings.
Gainesville Police Chief Nelson Moya shared that while he was driving his 5-year-old daughter to school this morning, he explained to her why she was wearing a red, white and blue dress by telling her the story of 9/11.
“One question that got me [was] ‘Daddy when buildings burn, will you go in?’ I had to pause because now this is my daughter, and tell her yes,” Moya said.
“I [could] see [her] brain process that her father [is] the one wearing the uniform that many hundreds wore that day that died. The point of the story is that it brings me great honor, although painful, to now have done my civic duty today to make sure that the next generations know and never forget.”
Gainesville Fire Rescue Chief Joe Dixon also noted the honor it is to serve Gainesville as a first responder and encouraged the community to support this service.
“We will always respond,” Dixon said. “We will always risk our lives to protect yours. Never forget that, and never forget the fallen that pay the cost of freedom that we hold dear and sometimes take for granted. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
Ward concluded the ceremony by inviting Gainesville City Manager Cynthia Curry to receive a proclamation marking Sept. 11 2024, as Patriot Day in the city of Gainesville, inviting everyone to join him in “observing this day with acts of kindness, generosity and service to honor the victims of the worst terrorist attacks on America’s soil, so that their sacrifices may never be forgotten.”
A livestream of the ceremony can be found on Facebook and will be uploaded to the City of Gainesville’s YouTube channel.