Mark Shore remembers exactly where he was on Sept. 11, 2001.
Shore was in his office on the 62nd floor of Two World Trade Center. The building was attacked as he was making his way to the lobby. He vividly remembers leaving the building as fully equipped firefighters ran the other way up the stairs trying to save people.
“Those are the heroes,” he said. “All of the first responders who showed up are heroes and they are every single day.”
Shore was one of a half dozen people who spoke at a ceremony at Fireman’s Park in Evanston on Sept. 11 to honor the people who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks 20 years ago.
“Being on the streets on New York at that time was very surreal,” Shore said. “There were tons of people all looking very confused and lots of rumors as to what was going on. I remember talking to one of my colleagues saying ‘Are we at war?'”
Commercial pilot Gil Villacarlos was also at the Evanston ceremony. He was flying for a commercial airline when he was told he had to immediately land in Champaign, Illinois. After landing, he walked into one of the airline’s offices where everyone was in silence watching events in New York City and Washington D.C. unfold on television.
“That’s when I realized what was happening,” he said.
He also said he was incredibly moved as he watched first responders rush into the World Trade Center.
“They’re the bravest people ever,” Villacarlos said. “The firemen who went up the tower. They didn’t think twice about their own lives. That’s why I’m here.”
The event included speakers, a solemn bell ringing ceremony and a color guard procession with members of the Evanston police and fire departments.
“As we have all gathered celebrating 20 years since Sept. 11, let us always remain appreciative and remember those who selflessly gave their lives while also being thankful for those many of which stand with us today prepared to do it again if necessary,” said Evanston Fire Department Chaplain Monte Dillard.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss said the country owes an incredible debt of gratitude to the first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11.
“We saw in that terrifying Tuesday morning enumerable first responders, while the rest of us were trying to figure out what was going on, rush into that inferno,” Biss said. “Many did give their lives. Many others were severely harmed and many others exposed themselves to incalculable incomprehensible risks just because that’s what they do.”
“We say that and we learned for a moment about the bond that connects all of us and the responsibility we all have to one another,” Biss added. “We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to those who took that step that day, who gave that ultimate sacrifice that day.
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Evanston resident Matt Doherty said he was in his studio on the day of the attacks when a colleague called and told him what had happened.
“I literally knelt down at my desk,” Doherty said. “I just didn’t know what to do.”
He said that as he watched events unfold that day he was struck by the bravery of the first responders.
“It was an experience beyond anything I could have imagined and trying to reconcile the fact where I was I was fine but literally this was happening in places I was familiar with,” Doherty said.
Brian L. Cox is a freelance reporter.