Naperville Remembers Sept. 11

Emotions ran high as area residents gathered Saturday morning to commemorate the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. 

About 300 residents attended the service, which brought back intense feelings of sadness, anger, pride and respect. 

"This event creates strong emotions in someone to be patriotic," said 14-year old Keith Kennedy of Aurora. "It makes me feel proud."

The event was originally planned to take place at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower Memorial, but was moved indoors due to the inclement weather.

The memorial event has been held annually since the dedication of the Commander Dan Shanower Memorial in 2003. Shanower was a Naperville native who died when the Pentagon was attacked on Sept. 11.

Jan Heilmann of Naperville has attended all but one of the anniversary events. This year, she brought her five-year old granddaughter Fiona Mares along.

"I want Fiona to remember too.  I want her to know what a wonderful country we're in," Heilmann said.

The memorial event included the solemn presence of an Honor Guard, police and fire personnel, and representatives from the VFW, American Legion and Boy Scout Troops.  Pauses during the program marked with the chiming of bells commemorated the times of the collapse of both of the Twin Towers.

Bagpipers played Amazing Grace and the Naperville Municipal Band performed patriotic songs concluding with a haunting rendition of Taps. Audience members sang The Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America.

Some in the audience wept during a slideshow depicting the aftermath of the attack at the Twin Towers.

The keynote speaker was Chuck Wehrli, retired captain of the Naperville Fire Department, who traveled to Ground Zero immediately after the attack, as a member of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Response Team.

"We really were not ready for what we saw and did for the next 10 days," Wehrli said.  Adding that he was struck by the "commitment, strength and courage," shown by the first responders at Ground Zero. 

Wehrli, asked attendees to remember Sept. 11 and honor service men and women as well as first responders.  Mayor A. George Pradel also spoke during the program reminding the crowd "freedom isn't free."

Diane Kennedy of Aurora attended the memorial with Boy Scout Troop 106, chartered by the American Legion.  The committee chair for the Troop, Kennedy said it's important for the boys to attend as part of their commitment to being "respectful and reverent."

Furthermore, she said it's important to remember the event.

"I'm a nurse and have always been involved in dealing with caring and nurturing. It's important to me to be cognizant of all of the people that saved the lives of others that day," she said.

The anniversary rekindled many of the strong emotions that people felt on Sept. 11.

"I relive it. I remember the shock of watching the towers go down," Heilmann said.  "I had thought we were safe."