ANNE EICKSTADT PHOTO Belvidere Republican
Mayor Mike Chamberlain joined Chief Hyser and on-the-job firefighters and police officers for breakfast before the 9-11 ceremony of raising the Ground Zero flag. (Masks were removed only long enough for pho-tos to be taken.)

At 8:46 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, five hijackers took control of American Airlines Flight 11 and flew it into the heart of New York City and the northern face of the World Trade Center’s North Tower (1 WTC). The impact left a huge, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors.

At 9:03 a.m., five other hijackers flew United Airlines Flight 175 into the southern face of the South Tower (2 WTC). The plane sliced into the south tower near the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris onto the streets below and over surrounding buildings.

At 9:37 a.m., another five hijackers flew American Airlines flight 77 into the western facade of the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

At 10:03 a.m., four hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 93 into a field in Stonycreek Township near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. A delay in takeoff allowed the passengers to hear about the other crashes—they knew they would not be landing at an airport as the hijackers told them. The passengers fought the four hijackers and all 44 people aboard were killed.

These four airplanes were hijacked by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda and who carried out suicide attacks against United States targets. Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for over a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the country during the months before Sept. 11.

At the Trade Centers alone, 343 firefighters and over 60 police officers died while rescuing workers, visitors, and children from the burning, mortally wounded towers. A federal technical building and fire safety investigation of the collapse of the Twin Towers was conducted by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. The goals of this investigation were to investigate everything that contributed to the outcome of the World Trade Center disaster. The report concluded that the fireproofing on the Twin Towers’ steel infrastructures was blown off by the initial impact of the planes and that, if this had not occurred, the towers would likely have remained standing. The fires weakened the trusses supporting the floors, making the floors sag. The sagging floors pulled on the exterior steel columns to the point where exterior columns bowed inward. With the damage to the core columns, the buckling exterior columns could no longer support the buildings, causing them to collapse. In addition, the report asserts that the towers’ stairwells were not adequately rein-forced to provide emergency escape for people above the impact zones.

Within hours of the attacks in New York, a massive search and rescue operation was launched, which included over 350 search and rescue dogs. Initially, only a handful of wounded people were found at the site, and in the weeks that followed it became evident that there weren’t any survivors to be found. Only 20 survivors were found alive in the rubble. Rescue and recovery efforts took months to complete. It took several weeks to put out the fires burning in the rubble of the buildings. The cleanup was not completed until May 2002.

Many relief funds were immediately set up to assist victims of the attacks, with the task of providing financial assistance to the survivors and the families of victims.

“There are still people dying from what they went through that day,” said Belvidere Fire Chief Al Hyser. “They are dying of cancers and other health issues caused by the buildings collapse. Products of the buildings and the planes intermingled in the air to create a toxic atmosphere. We are losing more people all the time from the incidents of this day.

“This year marks the 19th anniversary of this flag ceremony of remembrance. Here at the Belvidere Fire Dept. we have a flag which flew over Ground Zero (Twin Towers site), and we have performed this ceremony every year since the first anniversary.

“At about 9:46 a.m. on Sept. 11, we lower the flag we always fly and raise the flag from Ground Zero. This flag will continue to fly all day at half-mast. At sunset, we will lower the Ground Zero flag and put it away for safe-keeping until next year.

“Next year, the 20th anniversary, hopes are that we will have a larger and more ceremonial event. As usual, the Mayor and members of the Belvidere Police Department were invited at attend the small (due to pandemic restrictions) memorial breakfast. Afterwards, Chief Hyser requested everyone remove their masks long enough for a picture. “We want to see your faces,” he said.

“As a fire department, we will continue to honor all that died and remember them—not just on Patriots Day—but every day.

“This country is going through all this turmoil. I, for one, remember when 9-11 occurred and how the country came together as one. It would be great to see the country pulling together again. I’ll never forget the patriotism that existed then. To me, the United States is the greatest country in the world. It can be again. We, as proud firefighters, will continue to serve and protect regardless of what is going on in our society.

“God bless America!”

 
 
 
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