Ceremony marks 9/11 milestone

INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN — Hundreds of people on the American side of the International Peace Garden bowed their heads and observed a moment of silence Friday on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Firefighters, politicians, military members and aviation officials were all part of the 25th annual ceremony at the Peace Garden, held to remember and honour the nearly 3,000 people who died and the heroic acts of first responders.

“Twenty-five years have passed, but the significance of that day has not diminished,” said Dave Schellenberg, the vice-chair of the Manitoba Association of Fire Chiefs.

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four planes and flew two of them into the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City and a third one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., while a fourth one that was targeted at the White House crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaida.

“We remember the families who lost loved ones, the communities that were forever changed and all those who continue to carry the impact of that day,” Schellenberg said.

“We remember in a very particular way the 343 firefighters who answered the call that morning and did not return home,” he added. “They climbed the stairs while thousands of others were coming down. They went towards danger because people needed them. That simple act speaks to something every firefighter understands; when the alarm sounds, we respond.”

Schellenberg said that gathering at the Peace Garden is “especially meaningful” to show the connection between firefighters on both sides of the border and demonstrate the friendship between Canada and the United States.

Continuing to remember the lives lost and honour the acts of first responders a quarter century after the attacks is also important, he said, as many new first responders weren’t yet born in 2001.

“It becomes our responsibility to tell the story not only of tragedy, but the story of courage, the story of firefighters who continued climbing, the story of people helping one another,” Schellenberg said.

Firefighting officials from multiple agencies on both sides of the border, including Brandon, took part in the ceremony. Brandon fire Chief Terry Parlow laid one of the three wreaths placed near the garden’s memorial to 9/11, which features 10 steel girder remnants salvaged from the collapsed World Trade Center towers.

North Dakota Lt.-Gov. Michelle Strinden said she was at home with her children when the attacks happened, and she watched in disbelief at the horror unfolding.

“While Sept. 11 happened thousands of miles from North Dakota, its impacts reached every corner of our state,” Strinden said.

She said the four North Dakotans and two dozen Canadians killed during the attacks made a profound impact.

“My family and I have since visited the 9/11 memorial and museum in New York City, standing there in that place of remembrance, realizing that every name represents a life, a family, a story, a community,” Strinden said.

She said everyone owes a debt of gratitude to the first responders who put their lives ahead of others every day.

In his keynote address, Winnipeg deputy fire chief Jason Shaw told the story of one volunteer firefighter who was in the World Trade Center’s south tower when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into it at 9:03 a.m.

He said Welles Crowther, also known as the man in the red bandana, sprang into action immediately, helping evacuate people using a stairwell. After getting people to safety, he went right back into the tower to help evacuate more people.

In total, Crowther was responsible for saving as many 18 people before the south tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump posthumously awarded Crowther with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

David Pankratz, NDP MLA for Waverley and the Manitoba government’s special envoy for military affairs, highlighted how the 9/11 ceremony is important to firefighters.

“The tone sounds, and you go. You don’t know exactly what you’re going to or what you’re going to find. You only know that somebody needs help and it’s your job to be there,” said Pankratz, who is himself a firefighter.

“On Sept. 11 of 2001, firefighters, police officers, paramedics, military service members and ordinary people as well ran toward danger while everyone else was running away. The towers fell, and they kept responding. The fires were burning, and they kept responding.”

Speaking to the Sun before the ceremony started, Pankratz said despite a trade war and tensions between the two countries, “we are showing that no matter what, we’re going to show up and make sure that we take care of one another.”

“In this setting right now, I’m not thinking about anything to do with trade,” he said.

“What I’m thinking about is the families and the firefighters, the police, the paramedics that lost their lives and were affected ultimately for the rest of their lives because of what happened on that day.”

Tim Chapman, the peace garden CEO, told the Sun it’s “so important” for Canadians and Americans to remember what happened 25 years ago in a ceremony together.

“The average American, the average Canadian, I think, truly understands that we’re so much better together, and it really shows at places like this and at ceremonies like this that internationally, when folks co-operate and work together, it makes a big difference,” Chapman said.

Brock Nagel, a high school history teacher from Velva, N.D., who brought dozens of junior and senior students to the ceremony, said it was important that they came because they weren’t alive when the attacks took place.

“9/11 is a big moment in our country’s history … It’s just good to show them the significance of the event and it’s quite the experience to be able to come here and check everything out,” Nagel said.

He said so much has changed in the last 25 years.

“I’m just hoping that it’s something that helps them kind of remember about the day,” he said.

Deb and Greg Patten, from the Muskegon area of Michigan, said it was important for them to take in the ceremony because they don’t want to forget what happened.

Despite a large portion of the American population not being born when it happened, “it feels like yesterday still,” said Deb, while tearing up. “It was just something we never thought would happen.”

Greg said they had attended a conference in New York one year earlier, and people they had met were at Ground Zero.

“That was emotional, too. I try not to dwell on it too much,” he said.

During the ceremony, Schellenberg said while everyone continues to remember those who answered the call, firefighters “reaffirm our commitment to serve our communities with the same courage, compassion, and sense of duty that have always defined the very best of the fire service.

“May we never forget.”

After the ceremony ended, officials planted the first of 15 maple trees given to the garden. The trees were among 250 maple trees Prime Minister Mark Carney gifted to the United States for that country’s 250th anniversary earlier this year.

» alambert@brandonsun.com