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A generation of Fairfax County first responders who were not yet born on Sept. 11, 2001, gathered on Patriot Day to carry forward a promise made after the terrorist attacks: never forget.
Ceremonies across the county on Thursday brought together firefighters, paramedics, police officers, veterans, elected officials and residents. They remembered those killed in the attacks and emphasized the continuing duty to serve.
At Fire Station 25 in Reston, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Chief John Butler spoke during the department’s annual tribute to fallen first responders and victims. The ceremony was streamed live to every county fire station.
The department honored the 343 firefighters and 60 law enforcement and emergency medical personnel who died on 9/11. It also remembered the 246 airline passengers, 184 people killed at the Pentagon and 2,136 victims at the World Trade Center.
For another county observance, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Academy draped a large American flag over its rescue building.
Deputy Chief Brian Edmonston described the legacy of the attacks as more than an obligation to remember.
“It is more than a remembrance,” Edmonston said. “It’s a call to live our values, courage, strength and service every time we put on the uniform.”
A Mission That Could Have Required the Ultimate Sacrifice
Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Marc H. Sasseville delivered the keynote address at the annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial.
On the day of the attacks, Sasseville was a lieutenant colonel with the D.C. Air National Guard and one of four pilots assigned to locate and destroy United Airlines Flight 93.
Sasseville and then-1st Lt. Heather R. Penney prepared to launch F-16s that had no missiles. Their plan, if necessary, was to ram the passenger plane: Sasseville would strike the cockpit while Penney hit the tail to throw the aircraft off balance and bring it down.
They never carried out the mission. Before they took off, Flight 93 crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers and stormed the cockpit. After learning about the other attacks, those aboard acted to keep the plane from reaching its likely target in Washington.
The Great Falls ceremony also honored six local residents killed when Flight 77 struck the Pentagon: retired Marine 1st Lt. Richard P. Gabriel, Ann C. Judge, Barbara K. Olson, Lisa J. Raines, Diane M. Simmons and George W. Simmons.
Bells Mark the Moments of Impact
In Vienna, veterans from American Legion Post 180 joined community members for a solemn ceremony on the Freeman Store lawn. The gathering remembered the victims, honored first responders and recognized those who died in the wars that followed the attacks.
Former fire chief Jim Morris, Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert and Post 180 Commander Dave Wallace delivered remarks. Live music accompanied the observance, while the bells of Vienna Presbyterian Church rang at the precise times each hijacked plane struck, reinforcing the call to never forget.
U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine said he was praying for the victims’ loved ones in Virginia, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as those who died in the ensuing war in Afghanistan. He also called for continued support for veterans, first responders, service members and those who undertook dangerous recovery work after the attacks.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner similarly remembered the thousands of people killed and the families and communities that continue to grieve.
“No matter how many years pass,” Warner said, “we will never forget your loss.”