Los Gatos community members remembered the thousands, who lost their lives during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks at a memorial ceremony Sunday.
Some 200 people attended the event to reflect on the deadliest terror attacks on U.S. soil history.
“I think they are starting to forget, which is the reason we really need to keep reminding them of what happened and this is a good way to do it,” said Vietnam veteran Lee Duncan.
The community also honored Los Gatos High school graduates Mark Bingham and Todd Beamer, hailed as heroes on United Airlines Flight 93 for rushing the cockpit and altering the plane’s course away from the White House and U.S. Capitol Building. On Sept. 11, 2001, they were two of four passengers who attempted to take back the plane from the Al-Qaeda terrorists.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Mark Lindquist, a U.S. Air Force veteran, who responded to the attacks as a Red Cross volunteer said there are important lessons to remember.
“That day, 9/11 and then, the next day, that might have been the best and most pure citizen we have ever been," he said. "Because all of the garbage just fell away and the only thing that mattered was that we were American, and that we cared for our fellow Americans,” he said.
Lindquist urged people to keep that spirit alive by answering the call to volunteer for those in need.
