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Never forget: Hundreds gather at Jaffa Shrine to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11

Hundreds gather at Jaffa Shrine to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11

By Matt Churella 7 min read

Hundreds of people gathered Friday at the Jaffa Shrine Center to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks and honor first responders for their courage, bravery and heroism.

Prior to the main show, which started about 7 p.m. and lasted a little more than 90 minutes, the Altoona Community Band and the Orpheus Singers of State College performed on the center's lanai as doors opened to the public about 6 p.m.

The event was free to attend and brought hundreds of people together to never forget and always remember the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Hollidaysburg Community Chorus performed three songs with the Walk of Honor, which featured Gold Star Families and local first responders being saluted as they entered into the arena. A Presentation of Colors and Military Flags was performed afterward by the SCI Houtzdale Honor Guard.

Bishop Mark Bartchak of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese said a prayer prior to the event's speakers -- U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair, and former Friends of Flight 93 nonprofit President Patrick White -- taking the stage.

Bartchak said that death does not put an end to love and asked the Lord to "remind us that we, too, are to love one another as you love us."

Joyce reflected upon the 40 Flight 93 passengers and crew members, who he said were ordinary Americans called upon to do something extraordinary. Their selfless actions showed what Americans are capable of when confronted with hatred and evil, Joyce said.

"The actions of these heroes in the sky will never be forgotten by anyone who's here this evening," Joyce said, adding it's everyone's responsibility to make sure their legacy is never forgotten and taught to future generations.

While it's important to share the knowledge of what happened aboard Flight 93, Joyce said it's even more important to teach why the crew and passengers' actions mattered to the nation. Their sacrifice saved countless lives, Joyce said.

"We are a nation whose greatest strength is indeed the character of its great citizens," Joyce said.

White, whose cousin Louis J. Nacke II was one of the 40, has devoted his entire life to ensure that people remember each passenger and crew member.

Each of their lives were given in a sacrificial stalemate in what was a common field one day, but has since become a field of honor forever, White said.

While 25 years may have softened some edges of grief for family members, time never diminished their love and memory, White said, adding he thinks about the family gatherings, birthdays, weddings and holidays Nacke and the others weren't able to attend.

While many remember the tragedy of 9/11, the families remember how their loved ones lived their lives, White said, adding they remember their laughter, kindness, passing quirks and "the things that made each of them unique."

Twenty-five years later, the families still grieve, still remember and still love the people they lost on 9/11, he said.

"Love continues long after loss. It is carried forward in stories, photographs and memories shared across generations," White said, reflecting about how his family took a motorcycle ride in 2011, tracing what would've been the flight's path from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco, California.

While grief brought the 40 families together, so did purpose, White said, highlighting his work with the Friends of Flight 93 nonprofit and how, in partnership with the National Park Service, it aims to make the Flight 93 National Memorial a place of remembrance and learning.

Following White's keynote speech, several local artists performed before the Rev. Micah Marshall of Refuge Youth Network, delivered the closing prayer. The list of performers included the Blair Concert Chorale, NBC's "America's Got Talent" finalist Victory Brinker, Brandis Ajay, Jim White, Jason Wagner and Bob Baranik, a retired first sergeant from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 28th division band, who played taps during Friday's ceremony.

Sue Baranik, Bob's husband, said she was honored to attend the event.

"I feel immense pride for the United States," she said. "It may have been 25 years ago, but I'm sure everybody who lived through it remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing."

City resident Theresa Wilt, who attended Friday's event with her husband, Ed, said she was on her way to UPMC Altoona for bloodwork that morning. She heard radio coverage of American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into the World Trade Center's north tower, and by the time she made it to the hospital, United Airlines Flight 175 had flown into the south tower, and it was all over the televisions in the hospital, Wilt said.

"We were all kind of shocked, just saddened and terrified at the same time," Wilt said, adding she still gets goosebumps from thinking about 9/11.

Wilt said she was in a state of shock all day when the terror events occurred. When American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93 crashed in Somerset County, it was just more of the same sadness and shock, she said.

"We were in shock to begin with, and it was just more of the same," Wilt said.

When asked what she hopes the younger generation that didn't experience the shock of 9/11 will take away from Friday's remembrance ceremony, Wilt said she hopes Americans never take for granted the freedoms that we have.

"That day changed our lives forever," Wilt said.

Baranik said she likens 9/11 to Dec. 7, 1941 -- the day Japan attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, prompting the country to declare war on Japan and enter World War II. It was a day Baranik said she wasn't alive for but learned to appreciate its significance through history lessons in school.

"We learned about it through history, and I hope that young children now in school will learn about what happened on 9/11, 25 years ago," Baranik said.

Irene Huschak, the Portage Area Historical Society's president, said Friday's event was an important reminder for people to come together and remember the people who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

"So many people that we don't realize are suffering from the fumes and from the poison and everything that came that day with the buildings coming down," Huschak said. "We need to remember -- we need to remember those people."

The local 9/11 anniversary commemoration is held every five years in Altoona. This year's remembrance schedule was produced by Pam Etters, a local artist who serves as a Blair County 9/11 Anniversary Committee member.

In his closing remarks, Duane Bordell, the committee's chairman, said he hopes the ceremony enlightened the lives of all the people who attended, including the first responders and military members who protect us every day.

Bordell said he wants people to know that Blair County will always honor those who lost their lives in New York, Washington, D.C., and nearby Somerset County, where Flight 93 crashed in a Stonycreek Township field, near Shanksville, as a result of the 40 passengers and crew members fighting back against terrorist hijackers in attempt to regain control of the cockpit.

"With the 25th anniversary, we will never forget the civic pride, and we will always remember that we care," Bordell said.

"God Bless the U.S.A." was sung throughout the arena as people prepared to exit the event -- full of faith, patriotism and civic pride.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.

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