ASHLAND — A small crowd gathered at Ashland’s fire station Monday morning to remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
On that day, terrorists from al Qaeda hijacked four planes in a coordinated terrorist attack. They crashed two planes into the World Trade Center in New York City and another into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
A fourth plane was hijacked too. Passengers fought back and it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum website.
Rick Anderson, the chief of Ashland Fire Department, remembers where he was on that day.
He said he was in a refresher class. One firefighter went to the store. Anderson said he came back to the department and told them a plane had crashed into one of the Twin Towers.
He said everyone thought the plane would be a small one. Then, they turned on the news and saw that a commercial airliner had hit the Towers.
Anderson said everyone thought it was an accident at first. Then, they watched as a second plane crashed into the other tower.
“For the days, weeks and months after, it was all you could really think about,” Anderson told Ashland Source after Monday’s memorial.
At this year’s memorial, firefighters lined up outside the fire station and presented arms.
Austin Rissler, the chaplain at Ashland Fire, spoke at the memorial service. He talked about how firefighters and first responders showed “courage and unwavering commitment” to helping others on 9/11.
Rissler added that the bravery and selflessness of those first responders provided a reason for hope, even in a time of great difficulty for the nation.
Anderson said it remains important to host a memorial event each year to remember those that have been lost — and continue to be lost — to terrorist attacks.
“We need to remember the firefighters, first responders, police officers and civilians we lost that day,” Anderson said.
