At 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, the Statesboro Fire Department, in cooperation with the Statesboro Police Department, paused to mark the hour of the terrorist attacks from the air that killed almost 3,000 Americans 22 years earlier.
The Fire Department carries forward one of the few remaining local observances, as “Nine-Eleven” becomes more a matter of history lessons about heroism for a generation of young and no-longer so-young adults. Firefighters, some of whom were in elementary school or not born yet – today’s youngest SFD firefighters are 19 years old – lined up in the middle of Grady Street facing police headquarters and saluted as a wreath was laid there.
Fire Apparatus Operator Calvin Hitchcock struck the SFD’s remembrance bell 15 times, with two pauses, and the ringing tone lingered in the air.
“It is our duty to live up to the motto, ‘Never forget,’” SFD Assistant Chief Jason Baker said in his welcome. “Many of us can remember where we were that day. However, there is an ever-growing number of first responders that are serving that are too young to remember the events of that day. They don’t remember the tragedy, and more importantly the unity that we experienced as a country in the months that followed.”
However, the department does seek to instill appreciation for what happened then, along with information about historically significant fires and what has been learned from them, as part of training and not just on the day itself, he said in an interview.
A dark day
Describing that day in 2001 as “one of the darkest in our nation’s history,” Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams spoke not only of the almost 3,000 lives lost but of “thousands more left both physically and emotionally wounded.” Terrorists from the Middle East hijacked four airliners that morning with specific targets in mind.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, an airplane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. At 9:03 a.m., a second plane struck the center’s South Tower. About 9:40 a.m., a third plane crashed into one side of the Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. military, near Washington, D.C. Then the fourth plane, said to have been targeted at the U.S. Capitol building, crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, at 10:03 a.m., also with no survivors.
“Nevertheless, even amidst the unimaginable chaos, devastation and uncertainty, we witnessed countless individuals demonstrate extraordinary acts of courage and sacrifice,” Grams said.
3 who gave all
He noted the actions of three exemplary individuals.
New York Firefighter Stephen Siller had finished a shift and was off-duty when he heard the call to the World Trade Center and raced in his truck as far as Brooklyn Battery Tunnel but found it closed. Donning 60 pounds of gear, “he ran to the scene where he would later perish as he worked bravely to save others,” Grams said.
New York Police Department Officer Moria Smith was stationed nearby when the first plane struck the North Tower. “Without hesitation, she rushed into the burning buildings not once but multiple times in order to help lead people out of harm’s way. Officer Smith was last seen helping an injured man out of the South Tower just moments before it collapsed,” said Grams.
As an example of the actions of ordinary citizens that day, Grams spoke of Welles Crowther, “The Man in the Red Bandana.” A documentary film with that title recounts how Crowther, a 24-year-old equities trader who was also a volunteer firefighter, used his bandana as a makeshift mask as he led other people to safety before also losing his life when the South Tower collapsed at 9:59 a.m.
Hope for today
“Today as we commemorate the memory of those who perished and pay tribute to the heroes of September 11, 2001, we encounter new challenges as a community, as well as a nation,” Grams said. “As we confront the difficulties posed by a global pandemic, the forces of nature in natural disasters and the complexities of social unrest, we must remember that the spirit of unity, grace and unwavering perseverance witnessed that day can allow us to confront and overcome even the most difficult of hardships.”
Deputy Chief Bobby Duggar closed the observance with prayer, asking for renewed faith, guidance and unity for the nation. The ceremony was open to the public, but only a few nonuniformed citizens other than journalists and Statesboro city and Bulloch County officials attended.
ROTC’s climb
The Eagle Battalion, Army ROTC unit at Georgia Southern University, had begun another annual Sept. 11 observance at 6 a.m. sharp. Reserve Officer Training Corps cadets, most younger than 22, participated in the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. Their ascending and descending of the gangway steps at Paulson Stadium commemorates the 110 flights of stairs in each of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.