A public remembrance on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be held on Friday, Sept. 11, beneath the Peace Arch as Americans and Canadians gather to honor those who were killed and those who risked their lives to help others that day in 2001.
Planned by the nonprofit Northwest 9/11 Memorial, the event at the U.S.-Canada border shows that participants from both countries “will once again stand together in remembrance, demonstrating that some things rise above borders,” organizers said.
The observance will begin with two processions:
Canadian motorcycles and vehicles will leave the Delta Hotels by Marriott Vancouver Delta at 10 a.m. Call Guy Morall at 778-988-1012 for details.
On the U.S. side, the Fire and Iron Motorcycle Club of Skagit County will leave from Drager’s International Classic Sales, 1645 Walton Drive in Burlington. Doors will open at 8 a.m. at Drager’s. Contact Mike McKeon at 360-815-7800 to learn more.
The processions will convene for the 25th annual memorial ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m. at Peace Arch Park, although the public is encouraged to show up at 10:30 a.m. or earlier to see the riders arrive. Learn more at 911nwmemorial.com.
The ceremony will feature speeches, a U.S. Homeland Security helicopter flyby, U.S. and Canadian first responders — including four who were working in New York City on 9/11 — military and border personnel, and cross-border dignitaries.
A barbecue offering hot dogs and hamburgers will be served after the ceremony.
The motorcycle and vehicle processions are called the “Refuse to Forget Ride.”
Twenty-five years after the attacks, about 100 million Americans are too young to remember the day, according to the national 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people — among them 441 first responders, including 343 firefighters — on 9/11 and injured thousands more. Others developed illnesses from working in toxic debris.
Organizers of the local event and others across the U.S. have vowed to never forget, to remember people’s courage and sacrifice.
“We have to remain vigilant against terrorism. There’s so much extremism every day in the news,” said Howard Blank, co-chair of the Northwest 9/11 Memorial. “If you do not remember history, it’s destined to repeat itself.”
The ceremony is also a time to remember cross-border relationships, including when the residents of a Canadian town — Gander, Newfoundland — sheltered thousands of stranded American airline passengers for five days after the attacks.
“The significance is in good times or bad, we truly are children of a common mother on both sides of the border,” said Blank, referring to the phrase inscribed on the U.S. side of the Peace Arch.
