Remember September 11, but also September 12, Manhattan Beach Chief urges
By Kevin Cody
A bagpiper opens the Manhattan Beach 25th Anniversary September 11 ceremony.
Manhattan Beach Mayor Joe Franklin notes that everyone was impacted by September 11
Manhattan Beach Fire Chief Jesse Alexander calls for the ringing of the four fives bell.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson urges remembrance of events, not only on September 11, but also September 12 when the nation came together.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson.
The Manhattan Beach Fire and Police Color Guard depart after lowering the flag to half staff.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson.
The ceremony ends with Manhattan Beach Firefighter /Paramedic Greg Evans striking the four fives bell.
A September 11 mourner seeks solace by touching a girder from the World Trade Center.
A September 11 mourner seeks solace by touching a girder from the World Trade Center.
by Kevin Cody
Some laid flowers at the base of the September 11 Memorial next to the downtown Manhattan Beach Fire Department during the city’s 25th September 11 commemoration. Others laid their hands on the memorial’s two 15-foot lengths of steel i-beams.
A September 11 mourner seeks solace by touching a girder from the World Trade Center.
The i-beams are relics from the World Trade Center. They were given to the city in appreciation for the services of Manhattan Beach Fire Captains Tim O’Brien and Jeff Sanders, who went to New York in the aftermath of the attack to help in the recovery efforts.
A third Manhattan Beach firefighter, Craig Youngdale, also responded to the September 11 attack. But at the time Youngdale was a rookie with the Alexandria, Virginia fire department, five miles down the George Washington Memorial Parkway from the Pentagon.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson urges remembrance of events, not only on September 11, but also September 12 when the nation came together.
Approximately 30 minutes after Flights 11 and 175 hit the World Trade Center, Flight 77 slammed into the Pentagon at 550 miles per hour, penetrating three of the Pentagon’s five concrete rings, Youngdale said.
When he, his 50 fellow fighters and their eight engines arrived at the Pentagon, F-16 fighter jets were patrolling overhead and ground operations were under the command of a three-star general, Youngdale said. Twice during the day air raid sirens warned rescuers to evacuate the area, for fear of further air attacks.
Youngdale was assigned to assist with medical evacuations. Nearby hospitals were filled with both Pentagon and civilians needing medical assistance after walking away from their cars on the Parkway, which he described as a “parking lot.”
“Face to face was our best means of communication because cell towers were overloaded,” he said.
The following year, Youngdale visited the newly completed, two-acre Pentagon Memorial. Each of the 184 Pentagon and Flight 77 victims is represented by a bench with their name, organized by their ages, from three- to 71-years old.
Manhattan Beach Police Chief Rachel Johnson urged the 25th anniversary ceremony attendees to remember not only the events of September 11, but also September 12, when the nation came together.
“The heroes didn’t all wear uniforms. The civilians who reached out a hand, and said, ‘I have you,’ were also heroes,” she said.
Chief Johnson said one of the lessons of September 11 is the importance of interagency communications.
Manhattan Beach Fire Chief Jesse Alexander calls for the ringing of the four fives bell.
In closing the ceremony, Manhattan Beach Fire Chief Jesse Alexander announced the “striking of the four fives” bell for fire fighters who died while responding to the attacks and from related illness following the attacks.
After the bell was rung, the Manhattan Beach Police and Fire Color Guard lowered the American flag over the fire station to half staff. ER
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