1 week Ago By Thomas Gase
For the first time in nine years, there will be no ceremony in Vallejo honoring the 9/11 tragedy. The Vallejo Fire Department announced on Monday that instead of a yearly ceremony honoring the most deadly terror attack to ever to strike the United States, the department will transition to begin holding a ceremony every five years, starting in 2026 for the 25th anniversary and then in 2031 for the 30th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
“This change will allow the department to better plan, allocate resources and provide a more meaningful and impactful event for our community,” Vallejo firefighter and spokesperson Aaron Klauber said. “While the public ceremony will now occur every five years the Vallejo Fire Department remains deeply committed to honoring the memory of those lost on September 11, 2001. The department will continue to commemorate the anniversary each year through internal events, messaging and social media outreach.
“This thoughtful adjustment ensures that we can provide a dignified and heartfelt tribute, while also managing oru resources to maximize the significance of each event.” At 8:20 a.m.
EST on Sept, 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 77 — a Boeing 757 — departed from Washington Dulles International Airport to its scheduled destination in Los Angeles. Twenty-six minutes later, Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center between the 93rd and 99th floors, instantly killing 92 people on board. Less than 45 minutes later, Flight 77 crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center between the 77th and 85th floors.
Eight minutes later at 9:45 a.m. — approximately 42 minutes after Flight 77 became the second plane to crash into the two towers in New York — United States airspace was shut down and all operating aircraft were ordered to land at the nearest airport.
Fourteen minutes later, although it was the second of the two towers that was struck, the south tower collapsed. The day is an emotional one for Wally Trujillo, a Vallejo firefighter who helped organize the first event in 2015. He somehow manages to keep it together while playing an emotional “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes often at the events.
“I play a lot of funerals and it becomes almost kind of numb, especially on 9/11,” Trujillo said in 2022. “It has a special place in my heart because of the men and women who gave so much. I just want to honor them in any way I can and just do the best I can (while playing).
” Trujillo said he doesn’t just reflect on the East Coast, but firefighters and people everywhere. Trujillo was a junior at De La Salle when the terrorist attacks took place. “What America was right after that day.
We were all united,” Trujillo said two years ago. “Sept 12 was a hurtful day but it was a great day because it brought everyone together. After 9/11 it inspired me to become a firefighter.
” Vallejo firefighter Kevin Brown was still a sophomore at St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School.
He would become a firefighter seven years later. “I was getting ready for school and we got a phone call from my aunt who was living in Europe,” Brown said at last year’s 9/11 event. “She prompted us to turn on the television immediately.
That whole day was about watching the news. Even in our classes that day our teachers were focused on helping process what was going on as we watched on television.”.
