9.11.2025 - 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

Good morning everyone. I'm going to call the ceremony to order. Honor God, please post the colors.

Heat. Heat.

asked Micuda to come to the podium to introduce or explain the significance of the four fives.

Five fours, excuse me.

Please be seated.

Stand by.

off. I'll let you know when

the fire service is rich with ceremony, customs, and traditions. Our custom of rendering final honors has its origin in the fire department of the city of New York where many years ago, long before the advent of radios and pages, fire alarms and daily announcements were dispatched from central headquarters to outlying firehouses by a system of bells and each different type of alarm or

announcement would have its own number and series of bell strikes. When a firefighter died in the line of duty or when some important official or personage died, headquarters would transmit five bell strikes repeating in four series with a slight pause between each series followed by the announcement. This was done as long as 1865 in the New York City Fire Department to inform the rank and file

of the death of Abraham Lincoln. The custom has continued to present day and this form of rendering final honors to departed comrades is known in the fire service as the striking of the four fives.

Please strike the four fives. Please strike the four fives.

Rachel Raposa will now sing the national anthem. Please stand.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn?

What so proudly we pray at the twilight whose front and bright parts we were so gallently streaming and the rocks bursting in air through the night and The flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star spangle yet for the land of the free.

and the home of the world.

Thank you for that beautiful rendition, Rachel. Next, I'd ask Father Rsine to come to the podium to deliver the invocation.

Good morning everyone. Good night. It's good to see so many people here. And to our young people, thank you for your presence this morning as we gather this morning to commemorate the 24th anniversary the 911 attacks on our country.

A day that started off so beautiful just as this. A day that turned tragic and painful in such a brief time.

It still is that day of pain and sorrow.

The words that we often echo in our hearts we never forget.

We remember the heroes of that day. the firefighters, the first responders who demonstrated without fear or trembling the act of courage during a crisis.

We remember the innocents who perished, the friends and neighbors, the thousands whose names are read today.

We particularly today remember Father Michael Judge, the chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, the first certified fatality.

24 years later, we gather to remember and to comfort and to reflect and be that people of hope.

During this day and the days that follow, we once again continue to pray for that peace in our country.

to become those beacons of light just as those rays of light that shine in New York City tonight.

Strengthen the hands of those who defend our country and our common values of freedom, justice, and peace.

Inspire our leaders of cities and our nation to act wisely and to always pursue and to enact that peace by word and example.

bestow upon all today and every day your blessings.

And may we live to see those to be the swords to be converted into plow shares and nations not learned from war anymore.

Continue to bless our firefighters, our EMTs, our police officers, our armed forces. Grant them safety each day, particularly on this day as well. We pray for peace in our country and an act against violence in everywhere that we go. Amen.

Thank you, Father Michael.

Good morning, everyone. My name is Chris Nardy. I'm the chief operating officer here at Battleship Cove. Welcome to our annual writ of reflection service as we solemnly recall a horrific day 24 years ago.

Today we remember all of the victims and particularly those who sacrificed their lives in their heroic efforts to save their fellow citizens. I want to thank everyone who made the service possible.

Our public safety personnel including the various honor guards who are present. our elected officials, including in the front row here, Carol Fiola, Alan Sylvia, and Linda Pereira, our clergy, our musicians, and Battleship Cove staff and volunteers.

Finally, I want to recognize any Gold Star families who are present.

like to call Senator Roberts to the podium for his remarks.

Thank you, Chris. Good morning, everyone. Um, it's always a special day as we gather here as a community of Fall River to one uh honor and pay tribute to the brave men and women, our police officers, our firefighters, our EMS who we all witnessed running into that apocalypse as tens of thousand people were running away. We can never ever forget their heroic acts of courage and to also remember those

3,000 innocent lives that were lost due to that act of terrorism. It's hard to believe that it's been 24 years. I think many of us who were around then. We remember very vividly of where we were, what we were doing when we first got that call from a family member or we were glued to the television set early in that morning on that Tuesday, September 11th, 2001, just watching just horrifying events. Um, I know that

we here in Fall River shall never forget and we shall continue to honor and pay tribute to all the lives lost and to our brave first responders. Thank you.

Thank you, Senator Rodri's River Mayor Paul Coogan.

Um, first of all, I want to welcome everybody down to Battleship, Massachusetts for this memorial service for 911. Um, just four hours down that highway. Unbelievable devastation was being handed to a bunch of New Yorkers who had no business being involved with anything like this on a day like that.

We lost almost 3,000 people that day with multiple plane crashes, buildings collapsing, and it was the first time in I think on American soil that an attack rendered that kind of devastation. In the city of Fall River, we acknowledged the commitment of all of our public safety officers, particularly firemen on that day who did all they could to save as many people as they could and just as

they would in Fall River when we recently went through the um Gabriel House fire. We know what it takes to honor the people that gave so much for this country and that's why we're here today and we appreciate all you for coming out. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mayor Coogan. Forville Fire Department, Chief Bacon.

I want to start by thanking everybody for being here today and thanking Chris Nardy and his team for putting this wonderful ceremony together every year.

Today, we're gathered to remember a defining day in our nation's history.

It feels fitting to hold this ceremony here on the grounds near Battleship Cove, a place tied to another defining moment.

The ship behind me was commissioned only months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a day like September 11th that forever changed America.

I was not yet a member of the Fall River Fire Department on September 11th, 2001.

I was hired the following year and in 2003 I stood here for my first remembrance ceremony.

I remember those early ceremonies.

Crowds were large enough to remind us that we were united in grief, in pride, and in resolve.

Now, 22 years later, I stand before you as the chief of the department, and I've watched these ceremonies grow smaller each year. The television coverage has grown smaller, too. What was originally days of n days of national focus is now reduced to a few mentions on the news or documentaries on little watch stations.

Why?

Part of it is time. We're now more than two decades removed from the events of that morning. For many younger people, 911 is something they learn about in school, not something they lived through.

That personal connection, knowing someone who died or remembering exactly where you were, fades with time.

Families who once needed large public gatherings now often honor loved ones more quietly. And as generations pass, the urgency to gather fades, just as it did after Pearl Harbor. But I remember.

I remember where I was when the first plane hit.

I remember hearing about it on the radio with my dad standing beside me.

I remember first seeing the images on TV shortly after and knowing the world had changed forever.

Put this in perspective.

Only 16 active members of our department were serving on September 11th, 2001.

Many of today's firefighters are too young to remember. Some weren't even born yet.

I wish I had asked my grandparents what Pearl Harbor felt like. I imagine they felt what I felt on September 11th. And imagine they too watched as the ceremonies grew smaller, the crowds faded, and the living memory slowly gave way to history.

It seems that as Americans sometimes we forget to remember.

That's why I stand here today with one simple message. Remember to remember September 11th.

If you were handed a firefighter memorial flag this morning, I invite you now to raise it.

These flags were donated by James Pelier of Winchenden, Massachusetts through his nonprofit, Remember to Remember September 11th.

James and his organization have also produced an audio recording that captures the reading of the names of every victim of 911. Their goal is to have that recording played on September 11th on every public radio station in the country every year so that the memory of every life lost is heard and honored.

To raise awareness for this mission, they generously donated the memorial flags for use in our ceremony. And you'll see them scattered about the grounds here as well. They donated 343 flags, one for each firefighter who lost their life on September 11th.

Remember to remember September 11th came into my life at a time when I was asking myself why these ceremonies were shrinking.

James's organization provided me the solution. Memory matters.

And we must remember to remember not just the 343 firefighters, but also the 71 law enforcement officers, the 55 military personnel at the Pentagon, and the 2,192 civilians who were killed that day.

We must also remember to remember the many thousands more who later died or became sick from the after effects. And those people are still dying to this day from the effects of September 11th, 2001.

And we must also remember the toll that that day took on the mental health of so many people throughout the country.

This too is part of the cost of that day. And this too is why we gather.

But remembrance is not about looking back. It's about carrying forward. It's about honoring sacrifice with service.

It's about taking the unity we felt in those dark days and living it in our daily lives. So I ask each of you continue to come to this ceremony every year. Bring your children, bring your grandchildren, tell them stories, pass down the lessons and the names of that day. Because when we gather here each year, we're making sure September 11th does not fade into history.

As long as we can remember to remember, September 11th will remain not only a story of loss, but a living memory of sacrifice, resilience, and unity.

Thank you and stay safe.

Father Robert.

Good morning.

As we recall the horrific events of September 11th, 2001, remembering the 343 firefighters, 72 police officers, eight EMT and paramedics, part of the 2,977 lives lost that day. I'd like to share with you a poetic reflection as we will never forget that sacrifice of our first responders.

Let the world always remember that faithful day in September. And the ones who answered duty's call should be remembered and honored by us all. Our paramedics, police, and firefighters, always there for the needs of others, left the comfort of their home to face perils yet unknown. an embodiment of goodness on a day when evil hearts had gone astray.

They never questioned what they had to do, but rather ran into hell to save as many as they could, who by example were a source of hope and strength to others who could not cope.

Heroes that would not turn their back with determination that would not crack, who bound together in their ranks and asking not a word of thanks.

First responders who bravely gave their lives, whose orphaned kids and widowed wives can proudly look back on their mom and dad who gave this country all they had.

Actions taken without regret. heroism we shall never forget. To the ones who paid the ultimate price, let us never forget their sacrifice.

Lord, as we honor their memory here, those who gave their lives for all that we hold dear, may their memory never so that their sacrifice may not be in vain.

Thank you, Father Rob. Chief Aguia and Chief Bacon will now deliver the wreath to our contemplative circle.

I'm sorry, Chief Fon and Chief Aguier.

Please stand.

etern. Eternal Father to save the restless way.

The mighty ocean deep us when we cry to thee for those

Please remain standing for our 21 gun salute from the battleship Massachusetts.

Heat.

Heat.

All clear.

Is that it on the gun?

Where's that?

Clear. Expended. No casualties. All clear.

Heat. Heat.

Father Rob will deliver the benediction.

Let us pray.

Lord God, as we come to the conclusion of this ceremony where we will never forget the events of September 11th, 2001, we ask your heavenly blessing upon all those lives that were affected that day, the families.

We ask you to continue to bless and to guide our first responders in our armed forces and our country for their great sacrifice for our freedom. We ask your blessings upon all of us gathered here this morning as well as upon our country that we may be instruments of peace, beacons of light and hope in our world today.

This we ask in your most holy name.

Amen.

The Demarus family will now release the dose.

Thank you, Bill.

I'll ask the honor God to retire the colors.

with God bless America, my home sweet.

Oh, God bless America, my home.

Sweet home.