9/11 Anniversary

Sept. 11, 2011 will mark the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.

Full gallery »Firefighter hero status threatened by politics

  • Charles Porter's photograph of firefighter Chris Fields holding a dying infant following the Oklahoma City bombing won him the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography in 1996.
  • Felix Negrin, 59, pushes a pickup truck away from active fire with the help of two Golden Gate Estates firefighters on 40th Avenue Southeast during a brush fire on Thursday, Feb. 25, 2010, in Golden Gate Estates. David Albers/Staff
  • Firefighters carry an actor out through a mock disaster scene during a Collier County Crisis Response Coordination Exercise at the Naples Municipal Airport on Wednesday morning. The exercise included participants from the City of Naples Airport Authority, the Collier County Sheriff's Office, the Naples Police Department, the Naples Fire Department and multiple local fire departments supporting the Disaster Response Team for Hazardous Materials, the Civil Air Patrol, the Transportation Security Administration, the American Red Cross, Physicians Regional Medical Center, NCH Healthcare System, Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology and the Collier County Health Department's Medical Reserve Corps. Tristan Spinski/Staff
  • Firefighters from the Big Corkscrew Fire Department battle the largest of three fires that broke out in the Golden Gate Estates on Tuesday. The largest fire, north of I-75, grew to 500 by Tuesday evening. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • A Golden Gate firefighter climbs the ladder to fight a fire at 1361 Golden Gate Blvd. in the Golden Gate Estates on Wednesday evening. Lexey Swall/StaffLexey Swall/Staff
  • Firefighters from the city of Naples Fire Rescue Department respond to an SUV crash near Tin City in Naples, where the vehicle plowed through a guard rail. No one was injured in the crash. Photo courtesy of the city of Naples Fire Rescue Department.


Full gallery »September 11, a tale of two Presidencies

  • FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush stand for the closing prayer after Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the US on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sept. 11 defined one presidency. It still hangs over another. Every big ramification of that horrible day, two wars, tremendous debt, the unsolvable Guantanamo Bay prison, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the dead still coming home at Dover, has bridged the decade from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. The White House, like the rest of the country, has been forever changed. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
  • ADVANCE FOR USE LABOR DAY WEEKEND, SEPT. 3-5, 2011 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Oct. 29, 2009 file photo, President Barack Obama salutes with Maj. Gen. Daniel Wright, right, as a carry team carries the transfer case containing the remains of Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin of Terre Haute, Ind., who died in Afghanistan according to the Department of Defense, during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del. Sept. 11 defined one presidency. It still hangs over another. Every big ramification of that horrible day, two wars, tremendous debt, the unsolvable Guantanamo Bay prison, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the dead still coming home at Dover has bridged the decade from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. The White House, like the rest of the country, has been forever changed. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
  • A Guantanamo detainee, center, is escorted by US military personnel away from the dental clinic, at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, Cuba, Tuesday, May 15, 2007. About 380 detainees are currently held in Guantanamo Bay, some since 2001. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
  • FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2001 file photo, President George W. Bush, center, talks to former New York City Fire Commissioner Thomas Van Essen, right, wearing helmet, as New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, left, and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, foreground with back to camera, look on during a tour of the World Trade Center in New York. Sept. 11 defined one presidency. It still hangs over another. Every big ramification of that horrible day, two wars, tremendous debt, the unsolvable Guantanamo Bay prison, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the dead still coming home at Dover, has bridged the decade from George W. Bush to Barack Obama. The White House, like the rest of the country, has been forever changed. (AP Photo/Doug Mills)
  • *** FILE *** Exiled al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is seen in this April 1998 picture in Afghanistan.Tracking down Osama bin Laden has proven tougher than getting to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi because the top al-Qaida leader does almost nothing to call attention to himself and is protected by a ring of far more faithful followers, intelligence experts said Thursday June 8, 2006. The mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks avoids using satellite phones and the Internet. He is likely holed up along the Pakistani-Afghan border in rugged, remote terrain, protected by loyal tribesmen. (AP Photo)
  • In this image reviewed by the U.S. Military, a Guantanamo detainee, photographed through a glass window with a U.S military guard seen reflected on it, sleeps on a mattress on the floor of his cell, at the Camp 5 detention facility, at the U.S. Naval Base, in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. A federal judge on Thursday, Nov. 20 ordered the release of five Algerians held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the continued detention of a sixth in what is being called a blow to the Bush administration's policy to keep terror suspects locked up without charges. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)


Full gallery »September 11: St. Ann students commemorate attacks with ceremony

  • Student council president Jenna Zimmerman and vice president Sofia Vega read the poem 'United Are We.' St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday afternoon. Ten years ago, the great majority of the students were not yet born. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News
  • The adults lit votive candles, and struggled to keep the flames alive. St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday afternoon. Ten years ago, the great majority of the students were not yet born. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News
  • St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday afternoon. Ten years ago, the great majority of the students were not yet born. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News
  • Teacher Marjorie Huelsman and Father Michael Vannicola lead the singing of 'Let There Be Peace On Earth.' St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday afternoon. Ten years ago, the great majority of the students were not yet born. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News
  • Father Michael Vannicola leads the students in prayer. St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly on Friday afternoon to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Ten years ago, the great majority of the school's students were not yet born. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News
  • Student council president Jenna Zimmerman and vice president Sofia Vega. St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday afternoon. Ten years ago, the great majority of the students were not yet born. Lance Shearer/Special to the Daily News

St. Ann Catholic School held an assembly to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Friday afternoon. Ten years ago, the great majority of the students were not yet born.



Full gallery »Firefighter hero status threatened by politics

  • Firefighter Jose Garcia, of Golden Gate Fire and Rescue, helps keep a half acre brushfire from enveloping the home of Tyler Bunch, not pictured, on 4th Street NW in Golden Gate Estates on Thursday evening. Firefighters from Golden Gate Fire and Rescue and area fire departments held the line and saved Bunch's home, as well as several others in neighborhood near the corner of 4th Street NW and 2nd Avenue NW in Golden Gate Estates after a series of lightning strikes started a scattering of brushfires throughout in Golden Gate Estates on Thursday afternoon. Tristan Spinski/Staff
  • North Naples firefighters respond to a fatal structure fire at 804 98th Ave. N. in North Naples on Tuesday afternoon. Officials confirmed that 71-year-old Barbara Bonny, the resident of the home, died in the blaze. Officials from the Collier County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigators, the State Fire Marshall and North Naples Fire Control and Rescue District are investigating the fire. Tristan Spinski/Staff
  • Firefighters carry an actor out through a mock disaster scene during a Collier County Crisis Response Coordination Exercise at the Naples Municipal Airport on Wednesday morning. The exercise included participants from the City of Naples Airport Authority, the Collier County Sheriff's Office, the Naples Police Department, the Naples Fire Department and multiple local fire departments supporting the Disaster Response Team for Hazardous Materials, the Civil Air Patrol, the Transportation Security Administration, the American Red Cross, Physicians Regional Medical Center, NCH Healthcare System, Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology and the Collier County Health Department's Medical Reserve Corps. Tristan Spinski/Staff
  • Firefighters monitor the backyard of a home on 16th Avenue Southeast during a brush fire in Golden Gate Estates on Wednesday, April 27, 2011. David Albers/ Staff
  • Firefighters from the Big Corkscrew Fire Department battle the largest of three fires that broke out in the Golden Gate Estates on Tuesday. The largest fire, north of I-75, grew to 500 by Tuesday evening. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • Firefighters work to put out a fire at a large home and guest house at 3145 Cherokee Street on Sunday in East Naples. The fire destroyed Seven agencies responded to the blaze that could be seen for miles. Homeowner Bobby Cadenhead, who owns Cadenhead Construction, built the home over time with pieces of historical homes and landmarks as they were torn down around Naples. Lexey Swall/Staff


Full gallery »Freedom Memorial at Freedom Park in Naples

  • The Freedom Memorial, not yet finished, at Freedom Park in Naples on Sept. 9, 2011. Greg Kahn/Staff
  • The Freedom Memorial, not yet finished, at Freedom Park in Naples on Sept. 9, 2011. Greg Kahn/Staff
  • Engraved commemorative bricks are placed in the Pentagon Walkway surrounding the Freedom Memorial at Freedom Park on Golden Gate Parkway in Naples. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • The Freedom Memorial, not yet finished, at Freedom Park in Naples on Sept. 9, 2011. Greg Kahn/Staff
  • Engraved commemorative bricks are placed in the Pentagon Walkway surrounding the Freedom Memorial at Freedom Park on Golden Gate Parkway in Naples. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • Engraved commemorative bricks are placed in the Pentagon Walkway surrounding the Freedom Memorial at Freedom Park on Golden Gate Parkway in Naples. Lexey Swall/Staff


Full gallery »Marco remembers 9/11

  • Michael Fagan, a partner in Kerry's Cafe and former NYPD patrolman, has made remembrance of the 9/11 tragedy into a personal crusade. Lance Shearer/Special to the Eagle
  • Michael Fagan's NYPD uniform blouse carries a mourning band on the badge, in honor of those officers who gave their lives. Lance Shearer/Special to the Eagle
  • Michael Fagan, a retired New York police officer, owns two NYPD squad cars, also retired, and keeps them on Marco Island. Lance Shearer/Special to the Eagle
  • This fanciful painting of a New York skyline helped persuade Brigitte Vignari, who worked in the World Trade Center, to leave the city after the first terrorist bombing in 1993. Lance Shearer/Special to the Eagle
  • Michael Fagan, a retired New York police officer, owns two NYPD squad cars, also retired, and keeps them on Marco Island. Lance Shearer/Special to the Eagle
  • This fanciful painting of a New York skyline helped persuade Brigitte Vignari, who worked in the World Trade Center, to leave the city after the first terrorist bombing in 1993. Lance Shearer/Special to the Eagle

This year’s anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 has extra significance. The tenth time that date has come around since the nation suffered its wrenching entrance into a world of vulnerability has many people remembering the feelings of that day, and for some, loved ones lost.



Full gallery »Fort Myers artist’s 9/11 sculpture

  • Sandra Priest, a Fort Myers, Fla. sculptor, was commissioned to create a 9/11 sculpture that was carved from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. Priest says, 'I'd lay both of my hands on it before I started to work on it each day.' The piece of concrete was removed from the debris zone during cleanup at the World Trade Center and is titled, 'Victorii,' weighing just over 8,000 lbs. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers, Fla., to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site. Michele AnneLouise Cohen | Naples Daily News
  • Lieutenant James Tanner, South Trail Fire Protection, left, gives a salute to Sandra Priest, a Fort Myers, Fla. sculptor, who was commissioned to create a 9/11 sculpture that was carved from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. Priest says, 'I'd lay both of my hands on it before I started to work on it each day.' The piece of concrete was removed from the debris zone during cleanup at the World Trade Center and is titled, 'Victorii,' weighing just over 8,000 lbs. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers, Fla., to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site. Michele AnneLouise Cohen | Naples Daily News
  • Sandra Priest, a Fort Myers, Fla. sculptor, was commissioned to create a 9/11 sculpture that was carved from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. Priest says, 'I'd lay both of my hands on it before I started to work on it each day.' The piece of concrete was removed from the debris zone during cleanup at the World Trade Center and is titled, 'Victorii,' weighing just over 8,000 lbs. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers, Fla., to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site. Michele AnneLouise Cohen | Naples Daily News
  • South Trail Fire Protection firefighters fold one of two American flags that will be transported with a 9/11 sculpture created by Sandra Priest, a Fort Myers, Fla. Priest was commissioned to create a 9/11 sculpture that was carved from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. Priest says, 'I'd lay both of my hands on it before I started to work on it each day.' The piece of concrete was removed from the debris zone during cleanup at the World Trade Center and is titled, 'Victorii,' weighing just over 8,000 lbs. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers, Fla., to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site. Michele AnneLouise Cohen | Naples Daily News
  • Sandra Priest, a Fort Myers, Fla. sculptor, was commissioned to create a 9/11 sculpture that was carved from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. Priest says, 'I'd lay both of my hands on it before I started to work on it each day.' The piece of concrete was removed from the debris zone during cleanup at the World Trade Center and is titled, 'Victorii,' weighing just over 8,000 lbs. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers, Fla., to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site. Michele AnneLouise Cohen | Naples Daily News
  • Al Bertics, left, James Tanner, center, and Sandra Priest, right, drape an American flag over a 9/11 sculpture that Priest was commissioned to create from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. Priest says, 'I'd lay both of my hands on it before I started to work on it each day.' The piece of concrete was removed from the debris zone during cleanup at the World Trade Center and is titled, 'Victorii,' weighing just over 8,000 lbs. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers, Fla., to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site. Michele AnneLouise Cohen | Naples Daily News

Sandra Priest, a Fort Myers sculptor, was commissioned to create a 9/11 sculpture that was carved from the concrete slurry wall of the Twin Towers foundation. The piece is being transported by Impact Environmental from Fort Myers to Bethlehem, PA, where it will remain until its ultimate destination, the World Trade Center site.



Full gallery »Patriot Flag Memorial visits Naples

  • Local firefighters and administrative staff lower the visiting Patriot Flag Memorial flown adjacent to Freedom Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Naples. The Patriot Flag is a traveling American flag flown at Ground Zero and now traveling to all 50 states as a memorial to fallen first responders. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it will be flown at all three locations of the attacks. David Albers/Staff
  • Greg Speers, a spokesman for the East Naples Fire Control and Rescue District, leads a ceremony with the visiting Patriot Flag Memorial flown adjacent to Freedom Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Naples. The Patriot Flag is a traveling American flag flown at Ground Zero and now traveling to all 50 states as a memorial to fallen first responders. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it will be flown at all three locations of the attacks. David Albers/Staff
  • Wickford, R.I. resident Richard Ricker, left, and North Naples Fire Control and Rescue District Chief Orly Stolts stand for the Pledge of Allegiance at a ceremony with the visiting Patriot Flag Memorial flown adjacent to Freedom Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Naples. The Patriot Flag is a traveling American flag flown at Ground Zero and now traveling to all 50 states as a memorial to fallen first responders. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it will be flown at all three locations of the attacks. David Albers/Staff
  • Officer Andrew Emerson, of the City of Naples Police Department, bears the American Flag as a member of the agency's honor guard at a ceremony with the visiting Patriot Flag Memorial flown adjacent to Freedom Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Naples. The Patriot Flag is a traveling American flag flown at Ground Zero and now traveling to all 50 states as a memorial to fallen first responders. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it will be flown at all three locations of the attacks. David Albers/Staff
  • Lieutenant Steve Riley, with the East Naples Fire Control and Rescue District, signs an American Flag at the conclusion of a ceremony with the visiting Patriot Flag Memorial flown adjacent to Freedom Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Naples. The Patriot Flag is a traveling American flag flown at Ground Zero and now traveling to all 50 states as a memorial to fallen first responders. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it will be flown at all three locations of the attacks. David Albers/Staff
  • Naples resident Diane Vincent listens to Amazing Grace on the bag pipes at the conclusion of a ceremony with the visiting Patriot Flag Memorial flown adjacent to Freedom Park on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2011, in Naples. The Patriot Flag is a traveling American flag flown at Ground Zero and now traveling to all 50 states as a memorial to fallen first responders. On the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it will be flown at all three locations of the attacks. David Albers/Staff


Full gallery »Mother of 9/11 victim still struggles to come to terms with her son's death

  • Naples resident Elaine Pecorelli Dyer's son, Thomas Pecorelli, was killed as a passenger on the first plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Dyer said that Osama Bin Laden's death does not bring closure for her. 'We're not celebrating anything today. We're just glad that it happened and it's over,' said Dyer. David Albers/Staff
  • Thomas Pecorelli was killed as a passenger on the first plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Photo courtesy of Elaine Pecorelli Dyer.
  • Naples resident Elaine Pecorelli Dyer has an American flag hanging on her lanai comprised of the names of each victim of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. David Albers/Staff
  • Naples resident Elaine Pecorelli Dyer's son, Thomas Pecorelli, was killed as a passenger on the first plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Dyer said that Osama Bin Laden's death does not bring closure for her. 'We're not celebrating anything today. We're just glad that it happened and it's over,' said Dyer. David Albers/Staff
  • Nicholas Thomas Pecorelli is pictured with President Barack Obama. Pecorelli's father, Tom Pecorelli, was killed on 9/11 as a passenger on the first plane to strike the World Trade Center towers six months before Nicholas was born. Photo courtesy of Elaine Pecorelli Dyer.
  • Naples resident Elaine Pecorelli Dyer is on her second pendant bearing the image of her son, Thomas Pecorelli, who was killed as a passenger on the first plane to strike the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Dyer said she rubs the pendant when she thinks about her son and she wore the image away on the first pendant. Dyer said that Osama Bin Laden's death does not bring closure for her. 'We're not celebrating anything today. We're just glad that it happened and it's over,' said Dyer. David Albers/Staff


Full gallery »9/11 Remembrance Luncheon

  • Chris Curle special to the Eagle The North Naples Firefighters Color Guard perform the color presentation at the 9/11 Remembrance Luncheon last Friday at the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort.
  • Chris Curle special to the Eagle Marco Island Fire Captain Chris Crossan, right, was named Firefighter of the Year by the Fire-Rescue Foundation. With him as he received the honor were his wife Jennifer and their 5-year-old daughter Ava.
  • Chris Curle special to the Eagle Nearly all, 23 of the 25, students at the Winterberry Christian Academy were guests of the Fire-Rescue Foundation at the 9/11 Remembrance Luncheon. Dawn Sheldon, assistant administrator, says the visit was for part of the students' project of learning about September 11 attacks and its impact on American life.
  • Chris Curle special to the Eagle Ringing the bells is an old tradition among American firefighters. Here, Marco firefighter Jerry Adams rings the bell 20 times in four groups of five, the symbol for a firefighter dying in the line of duty. At the 9/11 Remembrance luncheon, the bell ringing was a tribute to all firefighters everywhere who gave their lives in service.
  • Chris Curle special to the Eagle Jim Curran, left, president of the Fire-Rescue Foundation and Mike Murphy, Marco Island Fire Chief, at the 9/11 Remembrance Luncheon last Friday.
  • Chris Curle special to the Eagle Marco firefighter Raymond Ladurini, who just returned from active duty in Iraq as a master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, got a standing ovation when he was introduced at the 9/11 Remembrance Luncheon.


Full gallery »Sept. 11 ceremonies in Naples

  • People lay their hands on steel beams that came from the World Trade Center towers at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church after a special mass held in honor of Sept. 11 on Saturday. The events began with a procession of local law enforcement, fire departments and various motorcycle clubs from Pine Ridge Road to the church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • A scene from Sept. 11 ceremonies in Naples. The events began with a procession of local law enforcement, fire departments and various motorcycle clubs from Pine Ridge Road to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road where a mass took place. The procession escorted three beams of steel that came from the World Trade Center towers. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • A scene from Sept. 11 ceremonies in Naples. The events began with a procession of local law enforcement, fire departments and various motorcycle clubs from Pine Ridge Road to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road where a mass took place. The procession escorted three beams of steel that came from the World Trade Center towers. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • People line streets to wave a procession of local law enforcement, fire departments and various motorcycle clubs escorting three beams of steel that came from the World Trade Center towers from Pine Ridge Road to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road. A mass took place at the church in honor of Sept. 11. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • People lay their hands on steel beams that came from the World Trade Center towers at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church after a special mass held in honor of Sept. 11 on Saturday. The events began with a procession of local law enforcement, fire departments and various motorcycle clubs from Pine Ridge Road to the church on Rattlesnake Hammock Road. Lexey Swall/Staff
  • Susan Cappozzola sheds tears during a special mass held in honor of Sept. 11 at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church on Saturday in East Naples. Lexey Swall/Staff



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