Ten Years Later: Community Honors 9/11 Victims, First Responders

Hundreds filled the stands of the stadium at on Sunday to commemorate the ten-year anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. 

The Sully District community, along with firefighters, police, emergency workers and elected officials, came together in a sunset ceremony to honor the victims and first responders, remember the horrors of the day and pray for peace in the world. 

"At Ground Zero, at the Pentagon, at Shanksville, it's obvious why we're commemorating what occurred there," Fairfax County Police Chief David Rohrer said. "But why do we gather in a place like this?"

"It's because, and I'm sure you believe, that day impacted all of us," he said. "It was an attack on our country, it was an attack on our communities, it was an attack on each of us. That's why we gather, and once again, as we always do in Fairfax County, you're showing that you care and that you're engaged." 

The memorial ceremony, hosted by the Sully Station II Neighborhood Watch and the Sons of the American Revolution, was filled with symbols of patriotism and hope. Fifty white doves flew free from their cages as Sherrie White, from the Fairfax County Office of Public Safety Communications, sang the national anthem and "America the Beautiful." The  marching band and Jeff Johnson from Bugles Across America played patriotic music, and Fr. Edward Hathaway from prayed the final benediction. 

For many of the speakers, it was a time of remembrance for deep personal losses as well. Deputy Chief Charles Ryan of the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, who once worked at the West Centreville station, lost eight friends in the FDNY on Sept. 11th. He saw his friend, deputy chief Ray Downey, not long before he died. 

"His parting words to me were, 'see ya soon, kid,'" said Ryan. It wasn't until Dec. 15th, at Downey's funeral in Deer Park, N.Y., that Ryan was able to say goodbye to his friend for the last time. 

Over 400 flags lined the fence of the stadium in honor of those first responders who gave their lives on Sept. 11th, but Stephen Souder, director of the Fairfax County Public Safety Communications also called attention to an "unsung group of heroes" of 9/11: 9-1-1 dispatchers.

"Those men and women in New York City and in Arlington, meticulously took those 9-1-1 calls from the top of the World Trade Center and were confronted with conversations for which they could never have been prepared," he said. "Conversations where the caller pleaded with the call-taker: please do not hang up. Please stay on the phone. Please, take down a note for my husband, for my wife."

Rohrer noted that the Sully community in particular has a history of showing support for its law enforcement and first responders, citing the outpouring of support after

"It's important for us to acknowledge the range of emotions that we feel, whether we want to or not. It is still important to remember those, even as we move forward. And think back to that day, the full range of emotions, our sense of just helplessness: what can I do? What can we do?," Rohrer said. "The losses that stunned our nation, and our collective conscious. For so many of us it was the shattering of our innocence."

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