{"id":461001,"date":"2026-09-11T22:56:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T22:56:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/461001\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T22:56:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T22:56:21","slug":"san-jose-commemorates-25th-anniversary-of-sept-11-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/461001\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose commemorates 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of that tragic day on Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren and other lawmakers informally gathered on the steps of the nation\u2019s Capitol then someone in the group began singing, \u201cGod Bless America,\u201d the San Jose congresswoman vividly recalled Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember that so clearly because we didn\u2019t have divisions about party members,\u201d Lofgren said. \u201cWe were there as Americans, and I think we can take a lesson from that time and that tragedy that Americans can conquer anything if we are unified as Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"RafaelRafael Villasana of Gilroy becomes emotional during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lofgren was speaking at the Patriot Day ceremony in downtown San Jose, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and paying tribute to not only those that lost their lives that day but the first responders who saved lives at the risk of their own.<\/p>\n

The tribute began with a procession of members of the San Jose Fire Department, San Jose Police Department and Santa Clara County Sheriff\u2019s Office who assembled in front of St. Joseph Cathedral Basilica on Market Street and marched north to Fire Station No. 1.<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Jose Fire Department Honor Guard and firefighters and law enforcement officers from multiple agencies march down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

They were led by the San Jose Police Emerald Society pipe and drum band and two vintage fire department vehicles \u2014 Lofgren, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and San Jose City Councilmember David Cohen rode in one; City Manager Jennifer Maguire, Vice Mayor Pam Foley and City Councilmember Rosemary Kamei rode in another. State Sen. Dave Cortese, Assemblymember Ash Kalra and San Jose City Councilmember Bien Doan walked the route, trailing a 1970s era police car and passing beneath a giant U.S. flag raised by two SJFD ladder trucks.<\/p>\n

Assistant Fire Chief James Dobson led the \u201clast alarm\u201d tribute to fallen first responders, as the Memorial Bell installed in front of the station rang out in a series of three rings repeated three times.<\/p>\n

Many who spoke touched on common themes about the unity of the country in the days following the attacks, the bravery of first responders who ran into danger to save lives and the nation\u2019s responsibility to address their continuing health issues. Acknowledging those in the audience who were too young to remember the attacks or might not have been born yet, some speakers shared stories about people they knew who were killed that day or recalled what their own lives were like at the time.<\/p>\n

\"AttendeesAttendees are reflected in a framed Flag of Honor, which was created with the names of those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee, a retired U.S. Navy commander who attended in uniform, pointed out where the focus should be during Sept. 11 commemorations, obliquely rebuking comments made recently by President Trump, though Lee did not name him. Trump has claimed that two firefighters lifted him up and carried him away from a seemingly unstable building when he visited the area shortly after the terrorist attacks. There is no evidence backing that claim and it has been called into question by at least one former fire official who was involved in the recovery effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tragedy belongs, first and foremost, to the people who were there, the families who lost loved ones and the first responders who put themselves in harm\u2019s way,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so no one should embellish, or invent, a connection to Sept. 11 simply to make themselves look more courageous and heroic.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. was among the last speakers and said his department proudly takes on the responsibility of ensuring that 9\/11 is never forgotten in the city. Each Sept. 11, the department conducts the bell ceremony at 5:46 a.m. PDT \u2014 the same time the first plane struck the World Trade Center\u2019s north tower \u2014 but without the large crowd that gathered for this year\u2019s anniversary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do so to remember all the lives lost, to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice and to signal clearly that we endure and thrive as a community and that we are in service to our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"FirefightersFirefighters from multiple agencies wait before marching down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"SanSan Jose Fire Department Honor Guard and firefighters and law enforcement officers from multiple agencies march down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"SanSan Jose Police Chief Paul Joseph marches down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"SanSan Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, right, and U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren acknowledge community members during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"FirefightersFirefighters from multiple agencies march down Market Street during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"GenesisGenesis Samarron, 11, of San Jose, left, and her mother, Ruth Salas, right, attend the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"SanSan Jose Fire Chief Robert Sapien Jr. speaks during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0
\n\"U.S.U.S. Rep. Sam Liccardo walks up to the podium to speak during the Patriot Day ceremony on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (Dai Sugano\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At the end of that tragic day on Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren and other lawmakers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88,16912,90,89,154082,177447],"class_list":["post-461001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-fire-department","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-sept-11","tag-zoe-lofgren"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/461002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}