From Chicago Sun-Times · · 2m
A clear blue sky over Navy Pier, 25 years on
Chicago firefighters marked a quarter century since Sept. 11 with a ceremony that said almost nothing out loud.
In brief
Chicago firefighters marked a quarter century since Sept. 11 with a ceremony that said almost nothing out loud. The most powerful remembrance wasn't a speech. It was bagpipes, a bell, and a department standing still. Originally reported by Chicago Sun-Times.
The same blue sky
Chicagoans woke Friday to clear skies and a light fall breeze, the same weather the city had 25 years earlier. That detail set the tone for everything that followed.
“Chicagoans woke to a clear blue sky and a light fall breeze Friday, just as they did 25 years ago.”
Standing at attention
At Navy Pier, members of the Chicago Fire Department lined up for a memorial ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Two generations in formation
Many firefighters there were too young to remember the day at all. They stood beside colleagues who lived through it.
The ones who drove east
Some in the crowd had caravanned to New York City in 2001 to help search the rubble of the Twin Towers. A quarter century later, they were back in formation at home.
“others in attendance had caravanned in 2001 to New York City to help firefighters search through the rubble”
Dignitaries who stayed quiet
Sen. Dick Durbin, Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson attended, along with Reps. Jonathan Jackson, Delia Ramirez and Mike Quigley. None of them spoke.
Silence as a choice
Skipping the podium was the point. On a morning built for speeches, the officials let the department and the ritual carry it instead.
“Dignitaries ... stood by but did not speak to the crowd.”
A prayer for the departed
A CFD chaplain offered the prayer, the only real words of the morning.
Boats on the water
Chicago Fire boats floated just off the pier during the ceremony, a working department's version of an honor guard.
A helicopter overhead
A CFD helicopter flew over the crowd as the prayer was given, pulling every eye upward on a cloudless September morning.
Amazing Grace, then Taps
Bagpipers played "Amazing Grace." An Illinois State Police trooper followed with "Taps." The two tunes did the work a eulogy would have.
The bell and the silence
The CFD honor guard performed a ceremonial bell ringing, and the department held a moment of silence. Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt hugged a supporter in the crowd.
Steel from the towers
Two pieces of steel recovered from the World Trade Center sat at the ceremony, the physical link between Navy Pier and lower Manhattan.
Short, solemn, over
The whole thing was brief by design. Another beautiful September day, remembered by a department that knows what the job can cost.
“The ceremony was a short and solemn reminder of another beautiful September day.”
In short
The most powerful remembrance wasn't a speech. It was bagpipes, a bell, and a department standing still.
