Remembering those we lost

#MiddleburyCT #9/11 #September11 #Flight11

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

This cross, the Ground Zero Cross, is a 20-foot section of preformed steel beams found in the wreckage of the World Trade Center and believed to be from the North Tower. It stood as a shrine on the site until 2006, when it was temporarily moved to St. Peter’s Church. In 2011, it was placed in the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, where it remains. (Image by Michal Lech from Pixabay)

His name was Al, Alexander Filipov, to be exact. I didn’t know him well. We met when we both were living in Concord, Massachusetts, and signed up to be 2020 U.S. Census workers. In one of our casual conversations, Al told me he was saving up his frequent flyer miles so he and his wife could treat themselves to a flight to Hawaii on their 50th wedding anniversary.

On September 11, 2001, Al was going to add to those frequent flyer miles by flying from Boston’s Logan Airport to Los Angeles. His flight departed Logan 14 minutes late, at 7:59 a.m. At 8:46 a.m., his plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Al was on American Airlines Flight 11.

Terrorists caused four planes to crash that day, and Al became one of nearly 3,000 victims. On that tragic day, we lost fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, neighbors and friends. Many who died were first responders. Among the dead were 343 firefighters, 23 police officers, 37 port authority officers and eight paramedics.

The deaths didn’t stop that day. The rescue workers and civilians who survived the initial crashes, fires and collapse of the Twin Towers inhaled air filled with toxic gases and particles and many suffered long-term health effects from their exposure to those toxins. Wikipedia states thousands more died from 9/11-related health issues, including cancer, in the years following the attacks

This year, on September 11, 2026, we commemorate the 25th anniversary of that terrible day. Many of us will attend ceremonies of remembrance. We will pause to remember all those we lost.

Here in Middlebury, two events are scheduled for Friday, September 11, 2026. In the morning, the Middlebury Congregational Church will ring its bell at 8:46 a.m., 9:03 a.m., 9:37 a.m. and 10:03 a.m. to commemorate American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the North Tower, United Airlines Flight 175 hitting the South Tower, United Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashing near Shanksville, Penn. Anyone wishing to do so is welcome to gather on the Green for a moment of silence at those times.

That evening, the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department will hold a 9/11 Ceremony at 6 p.m. at the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department. This event is timed to allow the most members of the community to attend the ceremony.

The national commemoration on September 11, 2026, will take place at the September 11 Memorial Plaza in New York and will be live at 911memorial.org/live. Families of the victims will gather to read the names of the victims killed in the attacks. Six moments of silence will mark the times each World Trade Center tower was struck or fell, the Pentagon attack, and Flight 93’s crash. A seventh moment of silence will be added to honor those who died from 9/11-related illnesses.

From dusk on September 11 until dawn on September 12, the iconic Tribute in Light will be displayed in lower Manhattan as two blue beams illuminate the sky in memory of the Twin Towers.

The newspaper will post these events on bee-news.com and will add events as we learn about them. If you know of a 9/11 event we have not mentioned, please submit the information to mbisubmit@gmail.com.