Program to mark 2001, 1993 attacks
“Our country changed a lot, our individual lives changed. It’s a hugely important day. It’s not insignificant, and I hope people continue to remember that,” Santa Barbara Police Chief Bernard Melekian said.
Members of the community are invited to attend a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the Sunken Gardens on Saturday to honor the more than 2,900 Americans who lost their lives 20 years ago in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The ceremony will also honor those who died in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
The event will begin at 9 a.m. at the Santa Barbara Courthouse and will feature multiple guest speakers, including U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, Mayor Cathy Murillo, interim Santa Barbara Police Chief Bernard Melekian, Sheriff Bill Brown and District Attorney Joyce Dudley.
This event is the first annual 9/11 Flag of Honor Across America Memorial. The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Teen Court program was chosen as one of 60 participants across America to lead this national remembrance project, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office.
During the ceremony, officials will read the names and a short biography of 50 of the 2,983 people who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Members of the CADA Teen Court program will then present county officials with a 9/11 flag of honor, which includes the names of all the victims of the attacks.
Community members interested in attending are encouraged to bring a folding chair or blanket upon attendance. County officials are also recommending masking and social distancing when attending.
Ahead of Saturday’s event, Chief Melekian told the News-Press that he hopes the public will come out and take time to remember the individuals who lost their lives and the first responders who gave their lives in response to the attack.
“I hope people just remember, I really do,” the chief said Thursday. “We tend to get trapped or locked into whatever the latest big thing on the news cycle is, but that day was hugely significant. Our country changed a lot, our individual lives changed. It’s a hugely important day. It’s not insignificant, and I hope people continue to remember that.”
For more information on the 9/11 Flag of Honor Across America memorials across the country, visit globalyouthjustice.org/news/9-11-day.
email: mhirneisen@newspress.com
