Aurora Pays Tribute to Fallen Heroes, Commemorates 9/11 Anniversary

Aurora marked the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday with tears, salutes, and a survivor’s gripping story.

Hundreds gathered under a clear blue sky Friday morning at the Central Fire Station on Broadway for the city’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony. Honor was paid to all of the victims, first responders, police officers and firefighters who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and a special tribute paid to the four Aurora Marines killed in the subsequent war in Iraq: Jesse De La Torre, Edwardo Lopez, Hector Ramos and Timothy Ryan.

Friday’s ceremony included remarks from Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner, Police Chief Greg Thomas and Fire Chief Hal Carlson, who said the 9/11 attacks are like the day John F. Kennedy was shot—those who were alive for it will always remember where they were, and what they were doing when they heard about the attacks.

Nearly 3,000 Americans lost their lives that morning, including hundreds of police officers and firefighters. Two hijacked passenger jets struck the World Trade Center towers in New York, a third hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers rose up against their hijackers.

Darien resident Tom Jones gave a first-hand account of the World Trade Center attacks on Friday. An employee with Morgan Stanley at the time, Jones was on the 61st floor of the South Tower when the North Tower was hit. He decided to evacuate the building, but found himself stuck in a crowded stairwell when the second plane hit.

Jones finally made it out of the building, after stopping to call his wife from a lobby pay phone. He said what sticks with him most is the kindness he received from strangers, including a restaurant owner who allowed him to stay, fed him and gave him unlimited use of his phone.

“I saw the worst of humanity, and the best of humanity that day,” Jones said.  

Clayton Muhammad, spokesman for the East Aurora School District, offered a poem he had composed for the occasion, directed to the families of the Aurora Marines who had lost their lives. The Aurora Fire Honor Guard presented each family with a flag, and tears filled the eyes of those family members.

“That day we sang a sad song, for we witnessed the world and so many of her wrongs,” Muhammad said. “But somehow the faith inside of us knew the change would come, and it wouldn’t be long, you know that faith that gives us the will to continuously go on.”