\u201cIt is a real opportunity to flip the script,\u201d said Tammy Cancela, event manager for the organization. \u201cBecause 9\/11 was such a heart-wrenching, just shocking and horrific day for America.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The memory of that day was echoed by the guest of honor, Kenneth Capps. In his opening remarks, Capps shared his first day as the vice president of public affairs at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, which was Sept. 11, 2001. The first document he signed that day \u2014 a life insurance plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody knew what that day was going to bring,\u201d Capps said. \u201cIt was such a feeling of fear and uncertainty. But we just said we were just to put all that aside and love people that day by doing good deeds like (the ones that) are being done today, right here in Arlington.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/DSC09384-1024x576.jpg\")
Kenneth Capps smiles with his daughter, Caroline Capps, as at the stage of the Esports Stadium Arlington on Sept. 11, 2026. (Mica Magday | Arlington Report)<\/p>\n
Volunteers of all ages helped the cause throughout the day, including Capps\u2019 16-year-old daughter, Caroline. She requested the day off from school to honor the victims and the people who were on the ground helping others like her parents that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s really important that (young) people come out here and learn about 9\/11,\u201d Caroline said through tears, after hearing her father\u2019s story. \u201cA lot of teenagers and younger people don\u2019t understand it because we weren’t alive \u2026 it\u2019s unfathomable to even try to imagine it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caroline agrees with her father that volunteering at events, like the UNIITE for Good campaign, are essential to honoring the legacy of 9\/11, whether someone remembers it or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOn that day, there was such a feeling of we were not Black or white, not male or female, kids or adults \u2014 we are Americans,\u201d Cancela said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s kind of how it feels today, spreading good.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Volunteershug-1024x683.jpg\")
Volunteers hug to conclude the morning meal-packing session on Sept. 11, 2026. (Mica Magday | Arlington Report)<\/p>\n
Earlier that morning, the Mansfield Fire and Police departments hosted a ceremony to remember the lives lost.<\/p>\n
Mansfield Fire Chief Michael Ross still remembers where he was that day. A young firefighter at the time, Ross had gotten into his station after a shift change and was cleaning when he first heard about the plane that hit the north tower of the World Trade Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe realized quickly thereafter that it was an attack on the U.S., and that changed everything, all of our perspectives from that day,\u201d Ross said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mansfield Fire Department carries some of the lives lost with them each day. On each fire truck, a decal with the number 343 symbolizes the number of New York Fire Department firefighters who died on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_0079-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Mansfield firefighters stand near a fire truck outside the Mansfield Public Safety Building on Sept. 11, 2026. The 343 decal signifies the number of New York firefighters killed on Sept. 11, 2001. (Chris Moss | Arlington Report)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very meaningful for us to recognize all of those who gave it all that day,\u201d Ross said. \u201cAs you can recall from looking at old footage, as people were coming down the stairs, firefighters were going up to try to save as many people as they could.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mansfield Police Chief Tracy Aaron, who remembers pulling his kids out of school during the attacks, said the city sent officers to New York to assist in recovery efforts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s terrible to think that a horrific event like that occurs to bring people together, but what you see from that is (that) our nation is so strong,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cNot just Mansfield, Texas, but our nation is so strong that we are always going to come back to our core beliefs, and that is love for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attacks on Sept. 11 led to the death of 441 first responders \u2014 the most emergency personnel killed in a single day in United States history, according to the 9\/11 Memorial & Museum<\/a>.<\/p>\n Aaron said the statistic brings him the same emotions every time he thinks of that day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s terrible to lose a first responder, regardless of what role they play, but to lose that many in one particular day with one horrific event is unfathomable,\u201d Aaron said. \u201cEven 25 years later, now you still think about those things today and they\u2019re just as powerful as they were on that day.\u201d<\/p>\n Mansfield resident Michael Orr watched as the flag was hoisted to the top of the flagpole, and then put at half-mast. He said he saw the event on Facebook.<\/p>\n Orr was only 1 year old when the attacks occurred, but showed up to reflect on the events.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great tribute that the city did for it,\u201d Orr said. \u201cIt is a hard day for the country, but we\u2019re united together, and we\u2019ll push forward from it.\u201d<\/p>\n The ceremony in Mansfield, which included a moment of silence and posting of the colors, ended at roughly 7:42 a.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, city personnel and families stood outside the Public Safety Building for a few more minutes, surrounding a portion of the north tower that was donated to the Mansfield Fire Department for their support in the recovery efforts.<\/p>\n Many of those at the building took photos of the steel, or spoke in small groups. At 7:46 a.m., the exact minute when American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower, the crowd went silent to hear a radio broadcast to Mansfield\u2019s emergency personnel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remember the personal and national losses on that tragic day,\u201d the voice said over a police radio. \u201cTo honor their sacrifices at this time, take a moment of silence and personal reflection. We will never forget.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Moss is a reporter for the Arlington Report. Contact him at chris.moss@arlingtonreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_0060-1024x683.jpg\")
A Mansfield police officer stands next to a Burleson Fire \/ EMS Department member, looking toward the Mansfield Public Safety Building during a 9\/11 remembrance event on Sept. 11, 2026. Between them is a piece of the World Trade Center\u2019s north tower that was given to the Mansfield Fire Department. (Chris Moss | Arlington Report)<\/p>\n