THE SAN RAFAEL FIRE DEPARTMENT hosted a public memorial in downtown San Rafael on Friday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
At the site of a memorial located off Fourth Street dedicated to Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas — a San Rafael resident who was a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed on Sept. 11 — portraits of fallen firefighters were on display with their biographies printed on the back. Flower arrangements were placed under the Lauren Place placard and a shrine to honor her memory.
Every year, fire departments across the nation gather to honor the firefighters who sacrificed their lives while rescuing people from the wreckage, a demonstration of service over self.
The San Rafael Fire Department invited the community to join them for a moment of silence at the top of every hour from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as they all honored the 343 New York City Fire Department firefighters who lost their lives responding to the events of Sept. 11.
San Rafael Fire Chief Abraham Roman led the remarks in the morning, commending the courage and bravery of the firefighters who lost their lives in service of others.
“It’s very appropriate for us to be here today as a moment of reflection,” Roman said. “This is part of never forgetting, by creating a space for the public.”
With no formal agenda in place, the purpose of the memorial was for people to engage with one another, share their own stories and reflect. Gazing at the profiles of the New York firefighters who died, San Rafael firefighter Joe Aiello meditated on the “heroism of responding, knowing you might lose your life.”
Aiello noted that there were even off-duty firefighters who responded to the emergency.
Visiting the memorial, Joycelyn Calvin White stopped to read a few of the 343 fallen New York firefighters’ biographies, reflecting on where she was that day.
“I was in the air when 9/11 happened. We didn’t know what was going on until a guy got a text from his wife and then the pilot said we need to land,” Calvin White said. “I had friends in New York and a brother and a cousin in the Pentagon.”
Despite being on the other side of the country, her personal connection made it a day to remember for the years to come. Calvin White mentioned texting her friends in New York to wish them well on this day, 25 years later.