Outside of the Lynn Fire Department Headquarters, a hush fell over the crowd Saturday morning as the station’s ceremonial bell was struck to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The city’s active and retired police officers, firefighters, emergency services personnel, the Lynn English JROTC team and city and state officials marched into the clearing in front of the firehouse to kick off the ceremony.
Around the North Shore, cities and towns gathered to mourn their fallen friends and family while also honoring the heroism of the area’s first responders. The late summer weather may have been picturesque, but the day’s solemnity was reinforced by the words of local leaders.
“I was struck at how today is a blue sky and sunny day like that day 20 years ago,” Lynn Mayor Thomas M. McGee said. “That day was meant to break our country but instead it made us stronger. We are all Americans and we came together regardless of race, religion, or creed.”
More than 100 people gathered at the fire department to remember first responders who lost their lives 20 years ago on 9/11. Lynn was one of the many communities across the North Shore that gathered to honor those who served and those who died in the line of duty on this horrific day in the country’s history; on that day, 2,977 people ― including 343 firefighters ― were killed after four hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
“We will never forget what happened,” said Fire Chief Stephen Archer, who thanked the crowd for their support of firefighters and other first responders. “Your support of us gets us through day after day. It means more to us than you could ever know.”
Kathy Cronin, whose husband was a firefighter at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, cried softly as the ceremonial bell was rung and a patriotic wreath was laid at the small monument dedicated to all who had served with the Lynn Fire Department.
“It’s so hard to think about what happened,” said Cronin, who was working as a flight attendant 20 years ago. “(First responders) there rushed in to save people they didn’t know. It was just another day’s work for all of them.”
Cronin said she never worked as a flight attendant again after the terrorist attacks and she couldn’t even step on a plane for years after they occurred.
“We couldn’t figure it out,” said Cronin, who recalled watching the live news coverage of the attacks and their aftermath with her husband on TV. “I knew flight patterns and, as I watched the second plane hit, I just knew something was radically wrong.”
As ambulances raced by the fire department headquarters, Archer told the crowd that “the sounds of sirens in the background remind us that our work goes on even now.”
Police Chief Christopher Reddy said during his own speech that the role of a first responder is to save lives, no matter what.
“We will continue to run towards danger and continue to be ready to have your back,” Reddy said.
In addition to remembering the dedication and sacrifice of many first responders, Lynnfield honored two of their own who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack, Garnet “Ace” Bailey and Sean Patrick Lynch.
Bailey, who won two Stanley Cups with the Bruins, was on his way to Los Angeles on United Airlines Flight 175 on a scouting trip on Sept. 11. He died at the age of 53 after his plane crashed into the south tower of the World Trade Center.
Lynch was only 34 years old when United Airlines Flight 175 deliberately flew into the building. He had been born and raised in Lynnfield before moving to New York City for work. Shortly before the attack, Lynch had been promoted to senior vice president of equity trading at Cantor Fitzgerald where he had an office on the 104th floor of the north tower.
“Ace’s personality was larger than life and he had the ability to light up a room like no one I had ever seen,” Select Board Chair Dick Dalton said. “(Sean) was a young man who was positioned for a long and successful career in finance. More importantly, he was remembered by friends as a special young man.”
Nahant’s ceremony was much quieter, said firefighter and Nahant Firefighter Union President Nick Papagelis.
Papagelis said that the crowd was double in size than what it had been in past gatherings for a ceremony that only lasted 10 to 15 minutes. Despite the short event, Papagelis said he was still proud to have recognized his brothers and sisters in uniform.
“It’s a solemn day and it’s something that we’ll never forget,” Papagelis said. “It was an honor to be a part of it.”
Peabody held three separate ceremonies in the morning: the first hosted by the Police Department at the Sept. 11 Memorial on Grandview Avenue, the second hosted by the Fire Department at the Peabody Public Safety Memorial on Perkins Street and the final one hosted by Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr., and members of the school community at the Barbuto Memorial Garden at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School.
The ceremonies honored three citizens who lost their lives that day. Residents N. Janis Lasden and Donald DiTullio, and Peabody native Christine Barbuto were aboard American Airlines Flight 11 when it was hijacked and crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York.
“It’s fitting that we gather at this beautiful Peabody Public Safety Memorial to honor bravery and pay our respects to those victims of that terrible day,” said Peabody Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr. “I still hold tight to the remarkable courage and touching compassion and incredible strength we witnessed from our public safety officers — the police officers, the firefighters, the EMTs and the everyday citizens that serve to inspire me and the entire country.”
Swampscott’s ceremony honored the first responders who sacrificed their lives for others. They also paid respects to Robert Jalbert, a Swampscott resident who was on United Airlines Flight 175 when it crashed into the south tower.
The ceremony also commemorated Swampscott locals Jennifer Harris, Jarad Raymond, and Justin Moors, who enlisted in the military and died serving their country, as well as war correspondent Michael Kelly, a journalist for the Atlantic Monthly who died while covering the War on Terror.
Swampscott also gave back to their community, raising food and clothing donations for Anchor Food Pantry and Goodwill.
“What’s important is that 9/11 stands as a day where we can remember how we came together as a nation,” said Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “We must never forget that what we have here is precious. The community and family we hold dear are precious and we have to protect and preserve all we hold dear as a democracy.”
State Rep. Daniel Cahill (D-Lynn) spoke at the Lynn ceremony, saying that it was hard to believe an entire generation wasn’t alive or did not remember the terrorist attacks firsthand. Cahill was inspired by those in that generation who chose to go into the military, police, firefighter, and emergency services forces because of the 9/11 attack.
“As FDR said about Pearl Harbor all those years ago, ‘This day will live in infamy,’” Cahill said. “Everyone is eternally grateful for all you (first responders) do, every day you put on a uniform.”
Katelyn Sahagian can be reached at [email protected]. Anne Marie Tobin can be reached at [email protected].
