{"id":400827,"date":"2026-09-15T21:30:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T21:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400827\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T21:30:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T21:30:15","slug":"cape-recognizes-honors-victims-of-sept-11-with-community-memorial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400827\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape recognizes, honors victims of Sept. 11 with community memorial"},"content":{"rendered":"


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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe city of Cape Coral held the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nCity Council member Bill Steinke speaks at the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday in Cape Coral.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe Cape Coral community recognized and honored the victims of Sept. 11 during the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe Cape Coral Fire Department and Cape Coral Police Department’s Honor Guards at the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nCommunity member Melisa Rodriguez joined other attendees in taking part in a \u201cflag planting\u201d outside of City Hall following the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe city of Cape Coral held the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe city of Cape Coral held the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe city of Cape Coral held the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe city of Cape Coral held the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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CASEY BRADLEY GENT
\nThe city of Cape Coral held the 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony on Friday outside of City Hall.<\/p>\n

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A 9\/11 Remembrance Ceremony was held on the lawn outside of City Hall on Friday morning.<\/p>\n

Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore, Cape Fire Chief Mike Russell and Cape City Council member Bill Steinke led the city\u2019s commemoration for the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. First responders, agency leaders and community members came together to honor the 2,977 lives lost on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n

Throughout the United States, most individuals who were toddler-age or older remember where they were \u2014 and what they were doing \u2014 when the first plane struck Trade Tower One in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was home in Jersey,\u201d Bernie Lefebvre said. \u201cMy wife was an accounting coordinator for the toll roads. She called me to say one of the World Trade towers had been struck. I turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit the second tower. I could see the smoke from our house.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lefebvre was a facilities coordinator for a New Jersey hospital at the time. Following the attacks, he was immediately called in to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all hands-on deck. Everyone who worked at the hospital was called in and we prepared for a rescue,\u201d Lefebvre said. \u201cBy midday, the rescue was renamed a recovery. No one was coming in to be saved. It was surreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

His wife, Erin Lefebvre, added, \u201cI remember the attacks on the World Trade Towers like they happened yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n

The catastrophic event marked a tragic day for America: 343 firefighters and 72 law enforcement officers died \u2014 first responders trained to run toward danger at any cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cBless all those who still carry the wounds of that day,\u201d Fire Chaplain Dennis Gingerich told the crowd.<\/p>\n

Addressing attendees on behalf of the mayor\u2019s office and city council, Steinke described the opportunity to speak at the commemoration as \u201cby far the greatest honor ever bestowed on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw ordinary citizens moving toward danger,\u201d he said. \u201cThey ran into the smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steinke noted that in the quarter of a century since the attacks on New York City, more than 9,000 survivors have died from toxins that they were exposed to.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome are still dying from the aftermath of 9\/11 today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Sizemore explained he would like to see America return to the same spirit and camaraderie that its citizens showed on Sept. 12, 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201c9\/12,\u201d he said, \u201cis a day I want to remember. It was, perhaps, the greatest show of unity we\u2019ve had (as a country) since Pearl Harbor.\u201d<\/p>\n

His message of hope was echoed by Russell.<\/p>\n

\u201cI choose to recall the days after 9\/11,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were simply Americans, standing shoulder to shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell added that unity is the message from Sept. 11.<\/p>\n

Also during the ceremony, students from Oasis High School provided music and poetry readings in recognition of 9\/11. The commemoration was followed by a \u201cflag planting\u201d in front of City Hall.<\/p>\n

Attendees had the chance to collect small American flags and \u201cplant\u201d them in the outside lawn. Each flag bore the name of an individual whose life was lost to the attacks that took place on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n

Melisa Rodriguez carefully planted a handful of flags, one by one, as she kneeled in the grass.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father was on the Elizabeth, New Jersey, fire department at the time of the attacks. He is still experiencing 9\/11 related illnesses,\u201d she said. \u201cMy dad is Phillip Morris. He lives right here in Cape Coral now, and I feel like placing these flags as a memorial is important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell closed the ceremony with an invitation for the community to, \u201cRemember the lives lost, and the unity that rose from the ashes of that day.\u201d<\/p>\n


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