A ceremony honoring lives lost, and the heroism of first responders, in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks will be conducted in 9/11 Memorial Waterfront Park in Port Angeles on Sunday, marking the 21-year anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon.
Speakers, singers and bagpipers will celebrate the rededication of two monuments in the park, one of which features part of an I-beam recovered from Ground Zero in New York City.
The event is organized by Alan Barnard, chair and founder of the Public Safety Tribute Citizens Committee and co-creator of the park’s monuments.
Barnard led the effort to install two monuments at the park.
The first was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2002, and is a carved stone monument dedicated to local public safety officials.
The I-beam monument was installed in 2011, Barnard said, and is dedicated to public safety officials who were killed in the attacks.
Barnard said Thursday that the monuments served as a gathering place for people to remember and honor lives lost on Sept. 11.
“I feel it’s important to not forget,” Barnard said. “It’s important to use the monument for people to gather.”
The ceremony will include performances by the Grand Olympic Chorus led by Connie Alward and bagpiper Rick McKenzie.
Speakers will include Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict; Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith; Port Angeles Assistant Fire Chief Derrell Sharp and U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles Commanding Officer Brent Schmadeke. An invocation will be given by a chaplain representing public safety officials, Barnard said.
“The purpose of this annual ceremony is to remember (Sept. 11, 2001) and what it has meant for our country and to pay tribute to our local and national Public Safety personnel who give so much to protect the quality of life we enjoy in this country,” Barnard said in a news release.
The park, formerly known as Francis Street Park, is located at 400 N. Francis St. in Port Angeles.
The ceremony starts right at noon, Barnard said, and will be brief, lasting less than 30 minutes.
“It’s not a long service, but it’s to the point,” Barnard said.
