Vancouver’s observance of Patriot Day was an opportunity to honor almost 3,000 people who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Friday morning ceremony at Vancouver City Hall paid special tribute to 400 first responders who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001 — including 343 New York City firefighters who ran toward danger as others fled. Their sacrifice was saluted with three chimes from a fire bell.
State Rep. Jim Moeller, one of the speakers, harkened back to another transformational event more than 50 years ago.
“A question you heard a long time ago was, ‘Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot?’ I was 7, in a playground not far from here,” Moeller said, recalling Nov. 22, 1963.
That was an event in another century, he said. For this generation, the question is, “Where you when the towers came down?”
Assistant Vancouver Police Chief Chris Sutter was driving to work. Sutter, a precinct commander 14 years ago, heard the news on his vehicle’s radio. When Sutter got to work, “We didn’t know if there would be additional attacks across America,” he said.
“We identified a list of critical infrastructure” and mobilized round-the-clock security.
That day changed his profession, Sutter said. From that point, “It was not just fighting crime, but preparing for terrorist attacks.”
But Friday’s event also provided an opportunity to look forward, to a better future. One way to respond to a tragedy is to “do something — anything — for another person,” Moeller said.
“Every act done for someone else is courageous, and we need courage,” Moeller said.
“Memorials like this one are for the living,” Moeller noted. “Where were you when the towers came down? And what are you going to do about it today?”
The commemoration included a rifle salute from a Veterans of Foreign Wars honor guard, the laying of a wreath and a dove release.
Similar observances were scheduled Friday morning by Clark County Fire District 3 in Hockinson and by the Camas-Washougal Fire Department in Camas.
