A majority of Americans know precisely where they were and what they were doing on a late summer Tuesday morning a quarter century ago.
Retired former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood was in Washington, D.C., as the U.S. House member for the Peoria area, getting ready to preside over a House session.
“As I got into the Capitol, the Capitol Hill police were making sure that everyone was leaving and telling us that there was a plane on the way to hit the U.S. Capitol,” said LaHood.
That plane instead struck The Pentagon, less than an hour after two other commercial jets crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York in a series of coordinated terrorist hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001. A fourth hijacked plane later crashed in a Pennsylvania field.
“As we gathered all members of Congress in the front of the Capitol, we heard the sonic boom of the plane that hit the Defense Department,” said LaHood. “And we saw the plume of black smoke covering Washington, D.C., and we knew that America had been attacked.”
LaHood was among those who spoke Friday morning in front of an estimated crowd of around 400 first responders, elected officials, civic leaders and community members at the 25th Anniversary 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at the Peoria Riverfront Museum, one of several ceremonies held across the nation.
“That moment in history enabled our country to come together like I’ve never ever seen before in the history of our country during my time of service, and that continued for a long, long, long time,” said LaHood.
A warm and bright morning served as the backdrop to the serene and solemn remembrance on the museum’s Sun Plaza that opened with an invocation from Bishop Louis Tylka of the Catholic Diocese of Peoria.
“We mourn the dead, we grieve our losses wrought by how these attacks changed our world, and we long for peace,” said Tylka.
“Forever changed by the events of that tragic day, we implore God for continued grace in our world, which will change our hearts for the better — the grace to honor the past by committing our lives to a better future.”
The ceremony honored the memory of Peoria native Charles “Chip” Chan, who was among the victims in the collapse of the Twin Towers, with his family members joining in the placement of a memorial wreath.
“He was a classmate of mine at Richwoods High School,” said Peoria Police Chief Brad Dixon. “He was really funny; he was liked by everybody, and he was always, always smiling.
“Chip just wasn’t a name on a memorial or a statistic in the history book. He was a son, a brother, a friend, a classmate, and someone who had a tremendous number of friends here and around the Peoria area. He came from a large family and had deep roots in this community.
“Remembering him reminds me that behind every one of those nearly 3,000 lives were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors.”
Members of the Peoria Fire Department marked the occasion with a ceremonial bell ringing in four sets of five strikes, representing the Fire Department of New York’s 554 signal in remembrance of fallen firefighters.
“As we remember all those we lost, let us also remember the individuals, their personalities, their friendships, their families, their dreams, and the lives they touched,” said Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger, also noting that in the aftermath of the attacks, hundreds of others have died from occupational cancers and suffered with lasting physical and mental health issues.
LaHood urged for a return of the community spirit that emerged in the days and weeks following 9/11.
“Our country was together, and we stood together and we were grateful to those who made the ultimate sacrifice,” he said. “So I think we should resolve today to continue to be the community we are, where we lift up one another, where we lift up the Chan family, and we lift up one another, and we remember.”
