Faribault Remembers September 11 at Fire Station

The Faribault Fire Department is conducteing another Commemoration Ceremony for September 11, 2001 on Monday, September 11, 2023.

Dustin Dienst, Fire Chief says the ceremony will start at 7:46 a.m. which was the time the first plane struck the World Trade Centre in New York City.

I've been able to attend a number of them over the years and it  is a simple yet poignant service. This day of terrorist attacks on the United States of America must never be forgotten.

Dienst will welcome those who attend.  There will be a flag raising and lowering to half staff followed by a bell ceremony.

Pastor Carrie Catelaine from First English Lutheran Church will deliver a eulogy.

There will be some short closing remarks before dismissal.  Typically the ceremony has been very brief.

344 firefighters lost their lives in the terrorist attacks. The youngest was 22, eldest 71 years old.

71 law enforcement and 55 military personnel were killed.

2,606 people perished that were in the World Trade Centre.  125 people died at the Pentagon.  246 people were aboard the four hijacked planes.

There were 19 hijackers, 15 from Saudi Arabia. Al-Qaeda did claim responsibility for the attacks.

American Airlines Flight 11 hit the North Tower at 7:46 a.m. our time.  United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower 17 minutes later.

Both 110 story towers collapsed within 1 hour, 41 minutes.  Their collapse also led to the collapse of 7 World Trade Centre.

8:37 a.m. our time American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into a side of the Pentagon.

United Airlines Flight 93 never arrived at it's intended target, believed to be the White House or U.S. Capitol building because passengers stormed the cockpit in an effort to regain control of the plane and it crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Tom Burnett, Jr., age 38, was a leader of passengers who stormed the cockpit in Pennsylvania.

Tom Burnett, Sr. passed away in April of this year at age 93. He was a longtime teacher at Richfield Public Schools.

His son graduated from Bloomington Jefferson High School where he led his football team to the 1980 state finals.  He would go to St. Johns University in Collegeville, Mn. to play football but an injury cut his career short after two seasons.

He then attended the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and earned a Masters Degree at Pepperdine University.

Burnett Jr., his wife, and three daughters resided in San Ramon, California at the time of his death.

He was laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery near the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport.