DANVERS — At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 crashes into the North Tower of the World Trade Centers in New York City.
At 9:03 a.m., United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the South Tower.
At 9:59 a.m., the South Tower falls.
At 10:29 a.m., the North Tower collapses.
Within the same time frame, at 9:37 a.m., a third plane destroys the west face of the Pentagon, and at 10:03 a.m., a fourth plane is crashed into a field outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, by brave passengers when they realized that the intent of the terrorists who had hijacked the plane was to crash it into the White House or the U.S. Capitol.
On Wednesday, 23 years later, on Sept. 11, 2024, the Danvers Fire Department — as well as public safety agencies and local officials and residents across region and the country — gathered again, at 10 a.m., to commemorate the tragedy, the heartache and the bravery of that day.
Moments later, the firetrucks rolled out of the Danvers station, red lights flashing, to commemorate the date. Six ranks of uniformed Danvers firefighters stood at attention.
The first alarm was sounded, four bells of three chimes each, for the firefighters who went out to protect and save others, not knowing what lay ahead, or whether they would even return.
A single bagpiper played a lonely tune, The Sounds of Silence, and chaplain Eric Baker recalled to the audience how that song “still reminds us of the brokenness of this world.”
He reminded the audience of the death toll that day: 2,753 at the World Trade Center including the 343 firefighters who died trying to bring them to safety, 184 at the Pentagon, and the 40 passengers aboard UA Flight 93, who crashed their plane into the ground rather than allow the hijackers to fly on to Washington.
The audience stood for a moment of silence to remember all of them.
Then the last alarm sounded, three bells of three chimes each, the signal that the fire was extinguished, and the firefighters returned to their stations.
The ranks of Danvers firefighters standing at attention saluted in memory of those who were lost on that awful day.
The bagpiper played Amazing Grace, and its sounds faded slowly into the distance.