News Flash

Patriot Day occurs on September 11 each year in memory of the people killed during the September 11 attacks in 2001.

"The September 11 attacks, also called 9/11 attacks, [were] a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks committed in 2001 by 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda against targets in the United States, the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil in U.S. history. The attacks against New York City and Washington, D.C., caused extensive death and destruction and triggered an enormous U.S. effort to combat terrorism. Some 2,750 people were killed in New York, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania (where one of the hijacked planes crashed after the passengers attempted to retake the plane); all 19 terrorists died . Police and fire departments in New York were especially hard-hit: hundreds had rushed to the scene of the attacks, and more than 400 police officers and firefighters were killed." - Britannica

"It's been 21 years since the terrible attacks in New York City and Washington," Mayor Joe Gibbons said during the City Council meeting Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022. "We will continue to pray for the families of the people who lost their lives during that terrible time."

Mayor Gibbons read the following commemoration during the meeting.

Patriot Day Commemoration
September 11, 2022

WHEREAS, Patriot Day commemorates the lives of those who died in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on our country – the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, this holiday honors those who perished in the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Virginia, and those who died attempting to rescue people trapped in the rubble, as well as the individuals killed when the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, Patriot Day was designated by joint resolution of the U.S. Congress on December 18, 2001; the resolution called for the President of the United States to issue a yearly proclamation requesting that all U.S. flags be flown at half-staff; and

WHEREAS, on Patriot Day, Americans are asked to honor the dead with a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the time that the first airplane struck the World Trade Center, and to respect the ceremonies of remembrance; and

WHEREAS, each year on September 11, citizens across the United States of America are reminded how precious our freedom and safety truly are and pay tribute to those whose lives were tragically lost that day; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, I, Mayor Joseph L. Gibbons, on behalf of the City of Lenoir City Council, commemorate Patriot Day on September 11, 2022, and express our deepest condolences for those lives lost in the 2001 terrorist attacks against our nation, as well as our highest gratitude for those who endeavor to preserve our liberties and our safety.

This the 6th day of September 2022.
Joseph L. Gibbons, Mayor

Tribute in Light as seen from Jersey City in 2020. Photo by King of Hearts. CC BY-SA 4.0

The Tribute in Light is an art installation created in remembrance of the September 11 attacks. It consists of 88 vertical searchlights arranged in two columns of light to represent the Twin Towers. It stands six blocks south of the World Trade Center on top of the Battery Parking Garage in New York City. Tribute in Light began as a temporary commemoration of the attacks in early 2002, but it became an annual event, currently produced on September 11 by the Municipal Art Society of New York. The Tribute in Light was conceived by artists John Bennett, Gustavo Bonevardi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, and Paul Myoda, and lighting consultant Paul Marantz. - Source