On a breezy Friday morning, one fact appeared to weigh on the city officials gathered in the shadow of the Braga Bridge: an entire generation has grown up with no memory of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

 

“Twenty-five years is a long time. There are now firefighters serving in departments across this country who were not alive on Sept. 11,” Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said.

 

On that day, terrorists hijacked four commercial planes, crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon and one into a Pennsylvania field after passengers fought back. The attacks killed 2,977 people, with thousands more dying in later years due to health issues stemming from the attacks.

 

“For those of us who remember Sept. 11, we remember exactly where we were, we remember the images, we remember the uncertainty and the sadness and we remember the incredible courage we witnessed that day,” Bacon said at Fall River’s annual 9/11 Rite of Reflection held Friday at Battleship Cove.

 

The mood was somber as bagpipes accompanied a color guard, a firefighter struck the ceremonial four fives on the bell, a memorial wreath was laid, and a 21-gun salute rang from the USS Massachusetts.

 

“It’s my hope that we do not wait for tragedy to unite us again. Let us carry this spirit to our daily lives by supporting our local heroes and standing by our neighbors,” Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan said.

 

See more at heraldnews.com.