Counties Across Southern California to Commemorate 21st Anniversary of 9/11

People help unfurl American flags to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 during the annual Waves of Flags display and remembrance at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

As the nation mourns the great loss Sept. 11 of nearly 3,000 people 21 years ago in the terrorist attacks on 9/11, several memorials and remembrances are held across Southern California.

Los Angeles County

The city and county leaders will gather Sunday for a ceremony at the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center.

Mayor Eric Garcetti and Fire Chief Kristin Crowley will ring 10 bells, and the ceremony will also include bagpipers and a helicopter flyover.

Chief Michel Moore of the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, acting Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Anthony Marrone, and members of the fire department who were deployed to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, are also set to attend.

The ceremony is closed to the public due to COVID-19 health concerns but will be streamed online.

The city of Long Beach observes a moment of silence at 9:11 a.m. The ceremony will be streamed on Long Beach’s Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages, and on the Long Beach police and fire department’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

“September 11th will forever impact our country,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said.

Long Beach Police Department Chief Wally Hebeish added: “With each year that passes, it is important that we pause on this day and remember all those we lost and the families that they left behind.”

In Beverly Hills, the fire department headquarter hosts an informal ceremony at 6:45 a.m., followed by a remembrance at the Beverly Hills Memorial Garden in the evening.

Holocaust Museum LA in Pan Pacific Park in the Fairfax District will present the West Coast debut of a sculpture exhibit titled “911: Vignettes of Emotion” by artist A. Thomas Schomberg.

San Diego County

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, National City Fire Department, FDNY Retirees of San Diego, San Diego Firefighter’s Emerald Society, and the Wounded Warrior Project held a remembrance ceremony aboard the USS Midway Museum at 10:30 a.m.

National City held a remembrance ceremony between 8:45 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. at National City Fire Station No. 34.

Sunshine Brooks Theatre in Oceanside will host a book signing and panel discussion of “Outside the Wire: Stories from Front Line Combat Veterans in Iraq and Afghanistan” with Amy Forsythe and U.S. Marine Corps Majors Scott A. Huesing (Ret) and Fred Galvin (Ret). Book signing begins at 2 p.m. and panel discussion begins at 7:30 p.m.

San Diego State University’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) will place 2,977 individual flags on the ground of the south end of Hepner Hall—representing each victim of the 2001 attack.

On Sept. 12, the ROTC will host its annual memorial event on campus with Marine Corps, Air Force, and Navy ROTC in attendance along with a number of first responders from the San Diego State University Police Department and the San Diego Fire Department as well as members of the San Diego State University’s Veterans Group.

The memorial includes a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., commemorating the moment the North Tower of the World Trade Center Complex was struck. At this time, the San Diego Fire Department will ring a bell 21 times recognizing the years that have passed since the attack. The remembrance event will feature several guest speakers and is open to the public.

Orange County

The Orange County Fire Authority held its annual remembrance ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Sunday at the agency’s headquarters at 1 Fire Authority Road in Irvine. District Attorney Todd Spitzer will also participate in the ceremony, which features honor guard members leading a bell-ringing ceremony.

In addition, Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes and Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy will speak at the Richard Nixon Library and Museum in Yorba Linda in a remembrance set to begin at 11 a.m.

Other events include a Patriot Day Paddle around Newport Harbor in Newport Beach.

On Monday, Pepperdine University will host an “Honoring the Heroes of 9/11” event, featuring Chancellor Sara Jackson and President Jim Gash. The university also has an annual display of nearly 3,000 flags in honor of the victims of the attack. The flags will fly on campus through Sept. 23.

City News Service contributed to the report.