About 30 Tinley Park firefighters and officials stood next to a steel beam from the World Trade Center towers Thursday for a Patriot Day Ceremony recognizing the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States.
The ceremony, held outside of Tinley’s Fire Station No. 46 on South 68th Court, began with a 10-minute bagpipe solo by Ken Januszyk and was followed by a teary national anthem sung by Mandy Barry. Several residents paused their morning walks with their dogs to listen.
Another group of about 30 residents gathered on bleachers in front of the station.
“First, I would like everyone to please take a minute for these senseless killings that are happening around the world,” said Tinley Park Mayor Michael Glotz.
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Glotz said 9/11 was not only a day to honor the nearly 3,000 Americans who died in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, but also a day to “celebrate the unyielding American spirit that has emerged from this tragedy.”
“The gathering we see today is powerful evidence that the spirit remains unbroken,” he said.
The mayor also thanked the Tinley Park Police and Fire departments, emergency management agency and emergency medical services personnel, emphasizing the importance of their service for the community’s safety.
As the time neared 7:46 a.m., when American Flight 11 struck the World Trade Center’s North Tower in central time, Tinley Park fire Chief Steve Klotz mentioned the first responders who died in responding to the attack and asked for a moment of silence.
The Rev. Paul Seaman, pastor of St. George Catholic Church in Tinley Park, emphasized this gratitude.
“(They) bravely entered doors when they knew they might not come out, upstairs and with each step knowing their chances of coming out were diminished,” Seaman said.
He also said the attack affected a wide range of people.
“They were people of every race, Christians, Jews, Muslims, who died because of the incomprehensible inhumanity of fanatics,” Seaman said.
Tinley Park police Chief Thomas Tilton asked residents to take a moment to reflect on the “innocent people who lost their lives on this day 24 years ago and what it means to be an American.”
“Much like this piece of the World Trade Center next to me, the American spirit is strong and will continue to endure,” Tilton said.
The steel beam, which Tinley officials and residents gathered around, was recovered from the twin towers and brought to Tinley Park in 2011. It rests outside Station 46, and the annual observance is usually held near the beam.