The City of Phoenix took a new virtual approach to its 9/11 memorial ceremony this year with a pre-recorded program that premiered on Facebook on Wednesday night.
In her opening remarks, Mayor Kate Gallego said, “This brief program honors the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11, and is also our expression of gratitude to those who serve, then and now.”
The ceremony also featured first-hand accounts of Phoenix firefighters and police officers who served on Ground Zero after the attacks 20 years ago.
One of those accounts was from Phoenix Fire Battalion Chief John Mure who was among the 60 Phoenix firefighters to respond to the events of 9/11 as a member of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Arizona Task Force One.
“I was blessed that I was able to help, that all the guys that I was working with wanted to do. I was just one person on a team looking to help some other Americans,” Mure said.
Sgt. Guillermo Arrubla of the Phoenix Police Department also shared his recollections of the scale of devastation that day as a former member of the New York Police Department.
“The best way I can describe it is to take about 5 blocks of downtown Phoenix and throw metal on top of it,” Arrubla said.
The devastation from the Sept. 11 attacks turned the streets of New York to ruin and took the lives of nearly 3,000 people.
“It was overwhelming, when you looked at it and realized if you didn’t walk out, you didn’t survive,” said Phoenix Firefighter Jerry Johnson, who was also a member of Arizona Task Force One.
While Phoenix and the entire nation mourn those who were lost that day, it serves as an opportunity to remember the strength our nation displayed in our frailest moment.
Phoenix Fire Chief Kara Kalkbrenner said, “These attacks were made to break our spirit, but instead, they galvanized our will.”
Contact the reporter at dljohn62@asu.edu
