People gathered in several Bay Area cities Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
The memorial in Union City was one of the several Bay Area events to remember the lives lost and paid tribute to those regarded as heroes.
Each name was read, including Tiffany Jackson’s aunt Wanda Green, who was a flight attendant on United Flight 93.
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“All the emotions come back of where I was at the time. Wondering where she was and if she was okay,” said Jackson.
Jackson came to honor the passengers and crew who died on the hijacked flight on Sept. 11, 2001. She reflects on life now, 20 years later.
“I think it’s just taught us again to appreciate each moment that we have and just love each other. She was an incredible loving person. She was very nurturing. That’s what it reminds me to be,” she said.
There were first responders and city leaders and the event was slimmed down due to COVID-19 but emotions were the same.
The Flight 93 memorial in Union City was dedicated in 2007.
“I just wanted to do something to honor them plus the more I heard about what they did how they fought back. Me being a Marine Corp veteran. You know. I really feel that,” said Michael L. Emerson, co-designer of the Flight 93 Memorial.
In Los Gatos, there was a powerful ceremony by the Flame of Liberty Memorial.
The memorial honored Los Gatos High graduates Todd Beamer and Mark Bingham.
There was also a tribute to Alice Hoagland, Bingham’s mother, who recently passed away.
In Hayward, they hosted a candlelight vigil that was about honoring the victims.
People gathered to write messages and participate in a moment of silence.
Don Reed served in the Army for 37 years.
Following the attacks, he served in Kuwait and Afghanistan. He has a message for younger generations.
“Continue to remember all the hard lessons they will carry forward. But as we move forward with joy, we must also carry forward with wisdom,” he said.
As people wrote their thoughts and feelings on a banner, Richmond resident Amber Tysor and her 3-year-old daughter added homemade decorations.
“I have been explaining to her as we made decorations about all the people lost and all the brave people. It was a tragedy for our country,” she said.
Siblings Hannah and Carlos Henriquez were born after Sept. 11. But they say after learning of the tragedy and the actions of first responders, they both hope to become firefighters.
“They didn’t run away. They kept going. It was selfless,” Hannah Henriquez said.
