OCEAN CITY, Md. - The Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company commemorated the 24th anniversary of the tragic events that occurred on September 11, 2001, with a ceremony Thursday morning. First responders and community members gathered at the Firefighter's Memorial on the boardwalk for the event.
Alexis Griess highlights Ocean City's Firefighters Memorial and Remembrance Beams of Light as communities across Delmarva pay tribute to those lost on a day that will never be forgotten.
Moments of silence were held six times throughout the morning, marking the events from that day involving the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.
Among members of the crowd, were Michael Owens and his wife, who happened to be in Ocean City today. Michael tells WBOC he was working in D.C. as an audio specialist back in 2001 when the events occurred.
"I was in Capitol Hill for Congress, the United States House of Representatives," said Michael Owens. "We got evacuated that day."
He also said why they felt like they had to attend this morning's ceremony.
"We came, we saw this. We were honored to be here to appreciate the memorial and remember everybody, including the Pentagon."
For Ocean City Volunteer Fire Chief James Jester, holding these yearly events is a duty.
"It's my responsibility to my generation to make sure that those individuals know about what happened," said Jester. "I'm just taking the place of all those individuals that were alive and that saw and experienced Pearl Harbor. We still celebrate Pearl Harbor to this day because people don't forget. People want to remember, people want to do the right thing, and they want to turn that over to the next generation."
Thursday night is also the final night for the "Remembrance Beams of Light" display will shine at the Firefighter's Memorial in Ocean City. It shines as a reminder of the attacks on the Twin Towers from that day.