Sept. 11 memorial calls for unity
Broomfield Mayor Guyleen Castriotta remembers exactly where she was 20 years ago on the morning of Sept. 11.
Castriotta was climbing in her car and headed to work at a Las Vegas TV station. On the radio, reports of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center were flooding the airwaves.
“My first thought was, ‘This can't be real,'” Castriotta said to a crowd in Broomfield's Community Park. “It wasn't until I walked into the newsroom that I knew it was real. I saw the newsfeeds from all over the country replaying the video of the plane crashing into the tower. I didn't leave that newsroom until almost 48 hours later, because as we all know the attacks didn't end there.”
With Saturday marking the 20th anniversary of the tragedy that left nearly 3,000 people dead in a terrorist attack, North Metro Fire Rescue District hosted an annual memorial Sept. 11 ceremony. The emergency responders and city leaders who spoke asked people to remember the lives lost on that day and come together as one to continue to heal.
More than 100 people packed the Broomfield Amphitheater for the memorial. Many pinned red, white and blue ribbons to their shirts. In the backdrop of the
amphitheater, a giant U.S. flag hoisted between two fire truck ladders waved in the breeze, and many a flock of geese settled on the small pond next to the stage.
During the ceremony, the crowd walked across Broomfield’s Community Park, passing solemnly between American flags lined along the sidewalk. Led by a color guard and bagpiper, they came to a stop at a Sept. 11 memorial featuring three bronze statues and six bronze panels that pay homage to the lives lost and those who came to the rescue during the tragedy.
Four planes were hijacked Sept. 11, 2001. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center, one carrying 92 people and the other carrying 65 people, according to the Denver Post. Another plane with 64 people aboard crashed into the Pentagon and a fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pa., killing all 45 people aboard.
Some who attended the memorial Saturday lost their loved ones to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Juliet Faughnan hugged a flag to her chest that was presented to her by North Metro Fire Rescue District Chief David Ramos in honor of her father, Chris Faughnan.
A 37-year-old bond broker, Chris Faughnan was killed while he was working in the north tower of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. Cathy Faughnan said that after her husband’s death, she and her three children moved from New Jersey to Lafayette in 2003. For many years, the family has been part of the Sept. 11 memorial in Broomfield.
Cathy Faughnan said that her late husband would want people to come together and treat each other with kindness and respect.
“I think the world needs that now more than ever to get us through the crisis we’re in and the crises we will face in the future,” she said. “We can’t do it as a divided country. We can only fight climate change, COVID, hatred, with that feeling that we are united — that’s what I would say he would say.”
Tom Faughnan Jr., of Broomfield, shared memories of his brother, Chris Faughnan, with the crowd gathered in the amphitheater.
He recalled how Chris would stop and talk with a man who was homeless and sold books from a place on the sidewalk. While most people just walked by the man and his books, Chris wanted to learn what the man had read and which books he would recommend.
“It was Chris’ way of acknowledging a fellow human being, when most people would think it wasn’t worth the effort,” Tom Faughnan said.
Chris Faughnan had a way of helping his brother expand his perspective on certain issues.
“I think one of the things I miss most about Chris is some of the debates we would have about policy and economics,” Tom Faughnan said.
He asked for people to follow Chris’ lead and see the humanity in every individual, even if their opinion is different from their own.
“I have wondered how 20 hijackers could have carried so much hate that they are willing to kill themselves and thousands of people they had never met and knew nothing about,” Tom Faughnan said. “I can only conclude that this is a direct result of a singular view of the world, fed by a lifetime of hateful propaganda and indoctrination that allowed them to believe anyone in America was an enemy.”
As the ceremony came to a close Saturday, people stood looking at the Sept. 11 memorial that was created by artist Reynaldo “Sonny” Riviera. A piece of steel from the World Trade Center is part of the tribute and can be seen in a sculpture of a man leaning on a beam.
Castriotta encouraged people to carry on the legacy of those who died and remember the power that comes from standing together in the face of tragedy.
“Sept. 11, 2001, was a day that rocked our country to its core, but it did not beat us,” she said to the crowd. “Through chaos, pain and suffering, we saw heroism and unity.”