DOVER, Del. - 25 years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, community and military leaders gathered at the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover Friday to remember the nearly 3,000 people killed and reflect on the lasting impact of that day.
The memorial ceremony included the posting of the colors, the singing of the national anthem and the playing of TAPS.
A bell was also rung to honor each attack location and the victims who lost their lives in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The ceremony also included prayers from emergency services, a performance of "Amazing Grace" and remarks from U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware Ben Wallace and 436th Airlift Wing Commander Col. Jamil Musa.
"That day was tragic, those events were tragic," Musa said. "However, I think there is some positivity when we look at the sense of triumph and unity that followed."
For others at the ceremony, remembering September 11 also means remembering the lives that were saved.
Sean Bakst, who began his career in the fire service in 2000, said people often focus on the lives lost when reflecting on the attacks.
"17,000 people were able to make it out," Bakst said. "We always look at it from the lives that were lost. But also looking at it from the other side of how many lives were saved."
Dover Police Chief Thomas Johnson said the 25th anniversary is also an opportunity to make sure the lessons of September 11 are passed down to a new generation of first responders who were not alive when the attacks happened.
"We have to explain what we experienced and we have to make sure that that resonates," Johnson said. "So the next generation carries on not only the memories and the remembrance, but the mission of taking care of our country, taking care of our community."
The Air Mobility Command Museum is also home to pieces of steel from the World Trade Center, providing a physical reminder of the attacks and the lives lost 25 years ago.
"The primary lesson that we can take out of 9/11 is exactly what we can achieve as a nation when we do band together," Wallace said.
