Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Serena Hammond | News Journal photos
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Pastor Dave Hinman leads the invocation and moment of silence during the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event on Wednesday morning.
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Scenes from the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, where community members gathered to honor the lives lost in the 2001 attacks with speeches, music, and a solemn flag-lowering ceremony.
Mayor Pat Haley speaks during the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building, reflecting on the impact of the attacks and the importance of honoring those lost.
Michael Cluxton, chief of staff, delivers the introduction at the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event at the Wilmington Municipal Building.
WILMINGTON, OHIO — Local residents gathered this morning at the city municipal building at 7:30 a.m. for a 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance. The event marked the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the US.
Ed Myers opened the ceremony with a musical prelude on the bagpipes. Michael Cluxton, chief of staff, provided the introduction, followed by an invocation and moment of silence led by Pastor Dave Hinman. The Wilmington Community Band performed the Star-Spangled Banner.
In his speech, Mayor Pat Haley reflected on the profound impact of 9/11. He shared a personal memory from years ago, visiting a cemetery with his wife Brenda in Ashland, Va., where he saw families standing by the graves of loved ones. Drawing from this memory, he quoted Peggy Noonan, saying, “On most days, there is someone who is remembering for us. No matter if it is hot and humid or cold and snowy, there are people leaving a flag or a tiny flower on a headstone. And they stop and bow their heads and sometimes you can hear them speak a name: ‘We miss you.’ ‘We often think of you.’ ‘We miss you with all of our hearts.’”
Haley added that in a way, these relatives and friends represent all of us, speaking for us as they walk among the headstones.
He also reminded the audience that those tragic events move us to our core and that, as time passes, the emotions they stir do not diminish but grow stronger. He concluded by saying, “Let us celebrate their souls today, remembering with our hearts, that their spirit lives on, and thrives in each one of us. And all we can do is remember. Thank you and may God bless the United States of America.”
The Wilmington Police Department, Wilmington Fire Department, and Clinton County Sheriff’s Office participated in lowering the flag, with a 21-gun salute led by Mike Sutton.
