Retired New York Police Department lieutenant Kevin Lynch remembers quite clearly where he was on Sept. 11, 2001, and shared his initial memory of the twin tower attacks at Peace Arch border crossing in South Surrey Friday, where hundreds of Canadian and American dignitaries, first responders, military and border personnel gathered for a 25th anniversary Northwest 9\/11 memorial ceremony.<\/p>\n
Lynch had been hired as a police officer in 1999, so he was still fairly new, working bicycle patrol in downtown Brooklyn, which is just across the East River from the World Trade Centre. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remember hearing it come over on my police radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center and, like a lot of people, I thought it was a Cessna and someone had gotten lost,\u201d he shared with the gathered crowd Friday (Sept. 11), recalling ho no one really knew what was happening at first.<\/p>\n
\u201cI biked over to an area called the promenade that overlooked the financial district the first tower was burning, and there were probably 200 people and I just got swept up like everyone else \u2026 I just stood there and was watching, and a man said, \u2018Oh that plane over there is low as well,\u201d and we watched the second plane fly in and \u2026 it was such an explosion, that I thought it was fake. The first thing I said was, \u2018That looks like a scene from Lethal Weapon. It just \u2014 the fireball \u2026 I probably stayed there for another 30 seconds,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n
Then he remember that his wife was going to bring their son, who had been born in May of 2001, into the city that day for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI called her at my father\u2019s apartment. I said, \u2018Don\u2019t go anywhere.\u2019 There was no cell service, so I pulled the \u2018This is a police emergency, sir get off the phone!\u2019 and I just grabbed (a payphone) from some poor man \u2026 nobody knew what was going on. Then I realized, \u2018I\u2019m a police officer and I probably should be doing something,\u2019 and I biked over to a bridge that connects lower Manhattan to Brooklyn, and assisted in the evacuation of thousands of people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynch \u2014 who was one of four New York City first responders who were at the World Trade Centre on Sept. 1, 2001 at the memorial \u2014 said it is more important than ever to remember those who ran toward danger, rather than from it, on that fateful day, especially now that there\u2019s a new generation with no memory of where they were on that day. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s incredibly important to remember, first of all, but also to to share \u2026 in the face of something so horrible on September 11th, I hope that we can be as we were on September 12th, which was amazing, the outpouring from all corners,\u201d Lynch said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m also a native New Yorker, and to receive the good wishes of everybody here \u2014 that\u2019s what\u2019s been really special. In (the) world that we live in today, where there\u2019s a tremendous amount of strife domestically, foreign, everywhere \u2026 to come here and just feel all the warmth from everybody is incredibly healing, and I\u2019m just honoured that I was asked to come out here. It\u2019s been an honour to be standing amongst these people.\u201d<\/p>\n
An annual gathering since 2001, both Canadians and Americans have come together at the international boundary to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and to honour the courage of those who responded.<\/p>\n
In addition to Lynch, retired NYPD Sgt. Marna Rann, retired Fire Department of New York paramedic Roberto Abril, and former FDNY firefighter Cody Stamberger were honoured at the gathering, as all were serving in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. <\/p>\n
Organized each year by Guy Morall, in conjunction with the 9\/11 Memorial Ride motorcycle and vehicle procession to the Peace Arch, the event also featured members of military and other uniformed service members, along with municipal, state, provincial and federal dignitaries, including Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, Delta Mayor George Harvie, Blaine Mayor Mary Lou Steward, B.C. Lieutenant Governor Wendy Cocchia, and U.S. Consul General Shawn Crowley, among others.<\/p>\n
Semiahmoo First Nation Chief Harley Chappell, along with councillors Jennine Cook and Joanne Charles, offered a welcome to the traditional territory of the Semiahmoo people, which includes land on both sides of the international boundary; while White Rock councillors Susan Bains and Anthony Manning were among those watching the ceremony.<\/p>\n
The event also featured U.S. and Canadian flags flown between the raised ladders of firetrucks from both sides of the border and a helicopter flypast by U.S. Homeland Security, the singing of the Canadian and U.S. national anthems by the Van City Chorus, led by Donny Rose and the stirring sounds of the Surrey Police Service Pipe Band. <\/p>\n
Many dignitaries spoke at the event \u2013 coordinated and introduced by organizer Howard Blank \u2013 sharing their memories of where they were 25 years ago, and of the importance of remembering lest history repeat itself.<\/p>\n
Many other common themes emerged \u2013 among them that close ties endure between first responders in both the U.S. and Canada and that they will continue to endure, despite the winds of political change.<\/p>\n
And while the close to 3,000 who lost their lives in the attacks on New York\u2019s World Trade Centre twin towers, at the Pentagon and in the crash of United Flight 93 near Shanksville, Penn, were remembered \u2013 speakers paid special tribute to the many first responders, who, typically, rather than running away from the horrific scenes, ran towards them to help save victims in peril.<\/p>\n
Some were among the death toll that day (Abril tearfully remembered his colleague and friend Carlos Lillo who lost his life at Ground Zero) while others continued to serve for years afterwards, while bearing both emotional and physical scars of the event \u2013 including life-shortening conditions.<\/p>\n
Canadians, it was remarked, were among those who volunteered to help at Ground Zero \u2013 and also did not hesitate to offer refuge for Americans who could not return home because their flights could note enter U.S. airspace for days after the attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur friends were hurting,\u201d Delta Mayor Harvey said.<\/p>\n
Canadians were there for them, he added.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Now), 25 years later, we are still standing shoulder to shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lieutenant-Governor Cocchia reminded those attending of the words inscribed on the Peace Arch: \u201cmay these gates never be closed\u201d and \u201cchildren of a common mother\u201d \u2013 noting they pay tribute to \u201ctwo amazing countries\u201d characterized by \u201cfriendship, trust and shared responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consul General Crowley, noting that 2026 marks the 165th year of a U.S. consulate in B.C., underlined the \u201cties between our people\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever our differences may be, we are there for each other when it matters the most,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Locke said the Peace Arch remains \u201ca powerful symbol,\u201d despite challenges in recent years, \u201cto remind us of what is truly important.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are connected not just by geography, but by shared values,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Blaine Mayor Steward noted the immediate international support for the U.S. following the \u201cfirst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbour\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cOther members of the NATO alliance were phoning to offer their help,\u201d she remembered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will always be challenges for those of us on this planet,\u201d she said, adding that there is a need for everyone to \u201ccome together in strength to find solutions \u2013 to work together with our faults and all.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe owe it to our children and grandchildren to put all our energy into (this)\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Retired New York Police Department lieutenant Kevin Lynch remembers quite clearly where he was on Sept. 11, 2001,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893812,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-893811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}