There will be a number of events in the Aurora area on Thursday to mark the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.
In Aurora, a remembrance ceremony open to the public will be held beginning at 7:30 a.m. Thursday at Aurora Central Fire Station at 75 N. Broadway in downtown Aurora.
Aurora Fire Chief Dave McCabe will speak, followed by the presentation of colors and the Pipes and Drums of the Aurora Police Department, city officials said. Aurora Mayor John Laesch will speak at the event, as will Aurora Police Chief Matt Thomas.
The St. Charles Fire Department will hold its annual 9/11 remembrance ceremony at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday outside at the Fire Department Memorial Monument, 2 E. Main St. in St. Charles.
The ceremony will honor first responders who put duty before self to rescue victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and remember those who lost their lives that day, according to a press release from the city of St. Charles.
The ceremony will include remarks from members of the fire department and St. Charles Mayor Clint Hull, the posting of the St. Charles Fire Department memorial flag, the placing of a memorial wreath and a moment of silence.
The city of Naperville and nonprofit Naperville Responds for Veterans will hold a remembrance ceremony honoring the victims and heroes of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower Sept. 11 Memorial, located behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.
The Naperville Municipal Band will perform starting at 5:45 p.m.
This year’s speaker is Laura Murphy, who survived the attack at the World Trade Center in New York City in 2001. Murphy, who now lives in Woodridge, worked in the North Tower of the World Trade Center and descended 59 floors to escape after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the building, a city news release said.
Naperville Mayor Scott A. Wehrli, Police Chief Jason Arres and Deputy Fire Chief Philip Giannattasio will also deliver brief remarks at the event, according to the release.
The annual remembrance pays tribute to Shanower, a Naperville native who died in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., during the 9/11 attacks.
Waubonsee Community College invites students, employees, alumni and community members to an in-person and virtual presentation called “100 Days at Ground Zero” on Thursday hosted by emergency responder and public safety expert Mike Fagel, college officials said in a press release.
The event will take place from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on the college’s Sugar Grove Campus in the Academic and Professional Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Deployed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Fagel served over 100 days at Ground Zero in New York City as part of the Fire Department of New York’s safety and logistics teams following the 9/11 attacks, officials said.
His presentation will combine personal testimony with artifacts, health insights and operational detail to reflect on the impact of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, according to the release.
Attendees will be able to view authentic items used, including respirators, hard hats, ID tags, maps and field notebooks used on-site. Fagel will share first-hand accounts of the physical, emotional and psychological toll of 9/11 response work, the release stated.
Fagel began his teaching career at Waubonsee in the 1970s, has taught at IIT, Northwestern and the University of Chicago, and has worked extensively with FEMA and the Department of Justice across the U.S. and abroad, officials said.
To learn more about this event, go to calendar.waubonsee.edu.
Fagel will also given a presentation on the impact of 9/11 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Sugar Grove Public Library, 10 S. Municipal Drive in Sugar Grove.
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For more information, go to sgpl.org.
In addition to the events planned in the area on Thursday, the Aurora Regional Fire Museum at 53 N. Broadway in Aurora has been hosting an exhibit called “America United: The Days After 9/11” since early June.
The traveling exhibit explores the national response after the attacks of Sept 11, 2001, museum officials said.
This is the last week to see the exhibit, which will conclude on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, and will be having a free admission day Saturday for the last day of the exhibit, according to a post on the museum’s Facebook page.