Marin residents unite to remember the day
It’s been 20 years since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 but the horror and heartbreak of that day hasn’t been forgotten, Marin residents, firefighters and police officers said.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Marin residents united on Saturday to honor loved ones past, police and firefighters held observances at stations across the county, and an exhibit is on display at the San Anselmo library.
At 6:59 a.m., the Marin County Communications Center rung four sets of five chimes, a signal rooted in the Fire Department of New York, to honor the 343 firefighters and 71 officers who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. In all, nearly 3,000 peo
ple died on 9/11.
“I remember it like it was yesterday,” said Marin County fire Chief Jason Weber, who at the time served as a firefighter-paramedic at the Ross Valley Fire Department. “It was just horrific. It was a significant place in history that changed so much.”
Marin County Sheriff Bob Doyle said he was getting ready to head out with his jogging group when he heard on the news that a small plane had struck one of the towers.
“We soon learned it wasn’t a small plane,” Doyle said. “This was the first time that we’ve really ever been attacked on U.S. soil, so we started thinking about, if this could happen there, it could happen anywhere. It was a game-changer for us that it could happen.”
In a statement, San Rafael police Chief Dave Spiller said, “On this twenty-year anniversary of the catastrophic events of 9/11/2001, the men and woman of the San Rafael Police Department sends their thoughts and prayers to all the victims and victims’ families. We will always honor the heroes of 9/11.”
San Rafael fire Battalion Chief Matt Windrem said, “We also remember all others injured or killed in these attacks. Our lives as first responders and Americans were forever changed by the events of that day, and we take the day today to remember the sacrifices of those who lost their lives.”
Tim Walsh, Marin County Fire Department’s retired Tamalpais Crew superintendent, joined the Marin fire department ceremonies. Twenty years ago, he was called to Washington, D.C., hours after American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon.
He served as a computer specialist and worked a two-week assignment as part of a national incident management team, helping the FBI create computer models of the crash site. He was among tens of thousands of first responders, including a handful from Marin, who answered the call after the attacks.
“Scents are one of the strongest memory triggers, and the smell of jet fuel always brings it back,” Walsh said, noting how pungent the smell was standing in the rubble of the Pentagon site.
“I think it’s important to keep the memory alive, especially for the younger generation to learn how much has changed,” Walsh said. “Getting on a plane used to be more casual, and you never thought a terrorist attack would happen.”
Novato police Chief Matt McCaffrey agreed.
“It was an attack on America, the institution of the United States,” he said, adding that “the nation came together and we were unified.”
Peace Novato also participated in the day’s events, organizing a vigil at Novato City Hall.
“The vigil is a memory of the attacks and the people who lost their lives — that’s the primary thrust,” said Julie Manson, co-chairwoman of the community organization.
“For my generation, the 9/11 attacks were like the assassination of John F. Kennedy: It changed the world,” Manson said. “Fast forward to 2001 and you see that it was more global, it was larger, and we need to start to ask about what our role is as a country in the world.”
San Rafael resident Chris Leong didn’t see the planes strike the World Trade Center, but he saw the aftermath. As he was getting ready to leave his night shift at a Brooklyn printing press, Leong saw the smoke billowing from the Twin Towers. He drove to his waterfront apartment and listened to the news as he watched the towers collapse.
“I had a front row seat unfortunately,” he said. “I could hear it and feel it before I actually saw it. The black smoke was so thick it clouded the sky. Hearing the rumble gave me a feeling of dread that settles in your head. The acknowledgement that so many lives could be lost so suddenly is a shock that never goes away.”
Leong said he had taken friends who were visiting from out of town to tour the World Trade Center a week before the attack.
At the San Anselmo Library, an exhibit called “September 11, 2001: The Day That Changed the World,” is on display through Sept. 24. Linda Kenton, the city librarian, said the exhibit includes 14 posters that feature archival photographs and images of artifacts from the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s permanent collection.
“As the years go by it’s leaving our consciousness,” Kenton said. “This is a really well-done, meaningful exhibit that takes personal stories to highlight on each poster. It just felt like it was important to have something in our community to remember.”
Kenton said the library hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There are index cards at the end of the exhibit for visitors to share their response or a memory of 9/11 to be put on display.
In San Rafael, people left flowers and tributes at “Lauren’s Place,” a site dedicated in downtown in memory of resident Lauren Catuzzi Grandcolas, who was 38 and pregnant when she died on United Airlines Flight 93. Grandcolas’ friend Kimberley Rodler organized the offerings.
“Even though it was a horrible experience, I get chills thinking about what a joy it was to know her,” Rodler said ahead of the event. “I feel responsible to get the word out about how wonderful and bright she was. She roller-skated, roller skating through life like an 8-year-old. She would totally light up a room, she was generous. I hope people will be responding with that spirit.”
When she died, Grandcolas’ sisters published her unfinished book, “You Can Do It!,” a motivational workbook of sorts. Rodler said she planned to have the book on hand for visitors to read.
Her widower, Jack Grandcolas, recently moved out of Marin to Pebble Beach. While he would normally visit “Lauren’s Place,” this year he commemorated the day at the memorial in Shanksville.
At the memorial, the exhibit includes recordings of the last voicemail messages left by the victims of Flight 93, including one by Grandcolas to her husband. Lauren repeated several times that she loved him “more than anything” and said almost casually twice that there was “a little problem” on the plane.
“It’s a gut punch every year,” Jack Grandcolas said from his New York hotel room. “It’s great that there has been such an outpouring of support over the years. It’s that support from the city of San Rafael and friends in Marin County that got me through the years.
“I’m glad that the community is continuing to love her and remember her for the brave woman she was,” he said.
Other Marin victims include: Paul Sloan, a 26-year-old San Marin High School graduate, who was on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center’s South Tower when it was struck by a hijacked plane. Jeffrey Coleman, a 41-yearold flight attendant from Novato, who was aboard the hijacked jetliner that struck the North Tower. John Keohane, a 41-yearold graduate of San Marin High School, who died when he was struck by debris after he helped a disabled friend escape from an office building next to the destroyed towers.