20 years later: Waterloo Region honours first responders who died in the line of duty on 9/11

KITCHENER -

Ceremonies were held around the world Saturday to mark the 20^th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York City.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on September 11, 2001.

At the site where the two towers fell that day is now a memorial inscribed with the names of the victims, including two dozen Canadians.

Families, friends and residents gathered there Saturday to remember those who died as a result of those terrorist attacks.

Similar events were also held at the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania where two other planes crashed that day.

In addition to the ceremonies, New York will shine two bright beams into the sky Saturday night in the shape of the World Trade Center towers.

WATERLOO REGION REMEMBERS

A memorial service for 9/11 was also held in Kitchener to honour the first responders who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

Local firefighters gathered at Civic Centre Park, at a steel beam that was recovered from one of the twin towers.

They scattered 343 red roses on the beam, one for each firefighters who died on 9/11.

“Roses symbolize passion and sacrifice, so we thought it was very fitting to have it on our memorial,” said David Vaux, a Kitchener firefighter and memorial committee co-chair.

They also included 60 blue petals for police officers and port authority workers who died that day, as well as eight white petals for paramedics.

“Kitchener Fire is a big family,” says Vaux. “They are our extended family in New York and, in fact, a lot of our members went down right after 9/11 to attend the funerals.”

About 30 of them travelled from Kitchener to New York for the service, not only to pay their respects they say, but as a show of support after they city lost so many of its own first responders.

Zach Larocque, a Kitchener resident. who brought his own flowers to the memorial Saturday.

“The sacrifice they made is something that we really should never forget.”

-- With reporting by Krista Sharpe and Joy Malbon