Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson and dozens of first responders gathered Wednesday morning at Ivy Tech for a ceremony commemorating the 9/11 attacks.
“It was a morning, a lot like today,” said Captain Garrett Greathouse of the Bloomington Fire Department. “A beautiful morning, people going off to work, kids going off to school, and after the tragic events, the world would never be the same again afterwards.”
Greathouse recalled the thousands of lives lost in the attacks. He said people still die from toxins in the smoke plumes.
The Indiana University Police Department color guard raised the flag to half-staff. Thomson spoke to the gathering.
She held up a photo of her with her dad, Barney. He studied naval architecture in college and volunteered regularly. Barney worked at the Pentagon the day of the attacks. His desk was 200 feet away from where Flight 77 hit the building.
After 6 p.m., Thomson learned her father was safe. He was evacuated before his office collapsed.
“He walked the nearly 17 miles back to our house,” Thomson said. “2,997 others did not have the opportunity to walk home that day, nor would they ever return.”
She emphasized the bravery of first responders.
“Ordinary people living their everyday lives were suddenly called to show extraordinary courage in the face of overwhelming adversity,” Thomson said.
She closed by saying Bloomington’s first responders carry the same spirit.
A wreath was laid in front of the 9/11 memorial which has a beam from the World Trade Center. A bugler played “Taps.” A bell sounded three sets of three rings, a traditional commemoration for fallen firefighters.
The ceremony ended with a prayer and the sound of bagpipes.
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