BELLEVILLE – The City of Belleville and the September 11 Memorial Walkway of Southern Illinois Committee will host a ceremony commemorating those lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
At 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, community members will gather at the September 11 Memorial Walkway of Southern Illinois in Belleville. The Belleville Chief of Police and Fire Chief will speak, as will guest speaker Colonel Steven Puthoff, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, G3, Scott Air Force Base.
“It’s a ceremony that lasts about a half hour, just paying tribute to those who lost their lives,” explained Karen Dauphin with the Belleville Fire Department. “We want to remember those and remember where you were.”
In addition to the speakers, attendees will listen to a bagpipes performance and “Taps” performed on trumpet. They will also hold a moment of silence to remember the 2,977 people who were killed that day.
Dauphin said the City of Belleville and the September 11 Memorial Walkway of Southern Illinois Committee have held this ceremony every year since the September 11 Memorial Walkway of Southern Illinois was installed in Belleville. She noted that it’s a chance to remember those who were lost and recognize the impact of the 9/11 attack.
“It means so many things to so many different people. Our kids, anybody 23 and younger — and we have several of those on the fire department here — weren’t even alive when this happened,” she said. “It impacted the world. It impacted completely the United States.”
