Manhattan Beach residents gathered on Sunday, a decade after the September 11 terrorist attacks that killed 2,977 individuals, to honor the lives of fallen victims, police officers, fire fighters and first responders.
The ceremony took place in front of the 9/11 memorial on 15th Street and Valley Drive, where two steel columns of the World Trade Center stand tall, adjacent to a concrete platform that reads, “We shall never forget.”
“It was clear to me,” said Patrick Killen, the memorial’s architect, “that these columns from the World Trade Center, which had fallen through earth, bent and twisted, must be elevated again into their original, vertical position, to stand for all times in defiance to those who would try and take our freedoms away by breaking our spirit.”
Eve Irvine, chief of police of Manhattan Beach Police Department, paid tribute to the victims of the attacks, and said that while America may have lost its innocence that day, Americans gained pride in their nation. “While it’s important to remember the firefighters, and the police officers, and the first responders that went into danger,” Irvine said, continuing, “We must also remember the people, who much like many of you out there, went to work one day living the American dream, and never came home.”
In the audience, Brandon Kroelinger’s eyes watered as he clutched to newspaper clippings of lost loved ones, including Manhattan Beach resident Chandler Raymond Keller, who was on board American Airlines flight 77, which was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Councilmember Wayne Powell encouraged memorial-goers to visit Keller’s memorial – a surfboard bench – at Bruce’s Beach on Highland and 27th Street. Powell also acknowledged the Manhattan Beach firefighters, Tim O’Brien and now-retired Jeff Sanders, who were sent to ground zero after the attacks to help with search and recovery efforts.
“We all remember where we were and the significant events in our lives on that day,” Powell said, adding that he lost his mother that day, unrelated to the attacks. “It was the worst of humanity, and it was the best of humanity,” he said, adding, “We are all proud Americans who stand united, and we are a stronger country as a result.”
The Manhattan Beach Middle School’s chorus sang the “Star Spangled Banner” and the string ensemble played “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America” at the event.
Councilmember Richard Montgomery spoke for Mayor Nick Tell, who was out of the country on business. “We showed the world that dark forces might be able to knock down a few buildings, but they would never ever knock us down as a nation,” he said.
