Aurora Plans 9/11 Anniversary Remembrance

The 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is almost here.

On Sunday, it will have been a full decade since the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. that left nearly 3,000 people dead. Throughout the next week, memorials and ceremonies will be held commemorating the anniversary around the local area. This is the first in a series of looks at those ceremonies.

Montgomery’s northern neighbor, the City of Aurora, will hold a remembrance on Friday, Sept. 9, at 10 a.m. at the Central Fire Station, at 75 N. Broadway. The featured speaker will be Darien resident Tom Jones, who was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center during the attacks.

After the first plane hit the North Tower, Jones decided to leave the Trade Center. He was in a crowded stairwell near the 36th floor of the South Tower when the second plane hit, and he managed to escape.

The memorial ceremony will also honor the four Aurora marines who have died in the subsequent war in Iraq. They are: Captain Timothy Ryan, 30; Lance Corporal Hector Ramos, 20; Private Edwardo Lopez, 21; and Lance Corporal Jesse De La Torre, 29. The Aurora Fire Department Honor Guard will present each of the families with a flag.

The ceremony will also feature the West Aurora High School Madrigals, bagpipers, a 21-gun salute, and the East Aurora High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps leading the Pledge of Allegiance. Parking will be available behind the Aurora Regional Fire Museum, 53 N. Broadway, and the lots across the street at Broadway and New York Street.

The Fire Museum will host an open house after the ceremony, to unveil a new exhibit called “Ground Level: September 11-14.” It is comprised of street-level photographs taken by New York City employees, and a display detailing the Aurora Fire Department’s response to the devastation.

The exhibit will be on display through Saturday, Oct. 1. The museum is open Thursdays through Saturdays from 1-4 p.m.

If you are interested in attending the 9/11 ceremony, call 630-256-3400.

Stay tuned to Patch for details of other 9/11 commemorative events throughout the region.