Hoover Fire Chief Clay Bentley, keynote speaker Mike White and Hoover Chief of Police Nick Derzis at Hoover’s Patriot’s Day event and Stair Climb to Remember at the Riverchase Galleria on Sept. 7.By Anne Ruisi
Over the Mountain communities marked the 23rd anniversary of Sept. 11 with events to memorialize the nearly 3,000 people killed that day when terrorists hijacked four commercial aircraft and crashed them into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Terrorists crashed that fourth plane into the ground after passengers fought back, trying to regain control of the jet.
“They all just embodied the very essence of selflessness and courage,” Hoover Mayor Frank V. Brocato said at Hoover’s Patriot’s Day event and Stair Climb to Remember at the Riverchase Galleria on Sept. 7.
Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills held a joint remembrance and Patriot Day ceremony on Sept. 11. The annual event rotates between the three cities, and this year’s was held in front of the O’Neal Library in Mountain Brook.
The ceremony is held “to compassionately honor and remember the 2,977 individuals who were killed on Sept. 11, 2001, in the terrorist attacks on America, as well as those who were injured during the attacks,” according to a notice on the city of Mountain Brook’s website.
“We are thankful for the many first responders, volunteers, rescue and recovery workers, uniformed safety personnel, and the hundreds of thousands of others who serve or have served in our armed forces here at home and overseas who rose in service in response,” the notice said.
The events not only honored the lost and injured on Sept. 11 but paid tribute to those who gathered their courage to try to save others, including those involved in the War on Terror.
Hoover resident Mike White, a former Navy SEAL who played for the Crimson Tide under coaches Bear Bryant and Ray Perkins, was the keynote speaker at the Hoover event, which is available to view on Facebook at facebook.com/HooverPD. He spoke movingly about service, to country and community, and “serving a purpose bigger than yourself.”
Keynote speaker Lieutenant General A.C. Roper with The Rev. Richmond R. Webster from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.“Service is about taking pride in our accomplishments while remaining vigilant and addressing our shortcomings in a world that often seems divided,” White said. “Let us remember that we may not always agree on the details, but the core values of liberty, equality and justice unite us all, and if you look around, you’ll find out we’re really not that divided.”
“The Seal commitment is not just to the mission, but to something bigger than ourselves,” he said.
He highlighted principles of the Navy Seals, such as placing the welfare and security of others above yourself and never quitting.
After a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace” and the speeches and remarks were over, the Stair Climb to Remember began in Galleria Towers.
About 100 participants raised $3,100 for the Hoover Public Safety Charity Foundation by climbing up and down the stairwells enough times to equal 110 stories, the height of each of the Twin Towers, according to a statement.
Photos of the first responders who died trying to save others were placed in the stairwells. Each climber wore a photo of one of those police officers or firefighters around their neck in their honor.
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