It has been 21 years since the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil, but for some first responders the pain is still the same today as it was on September 11, 2001.
On Sunday, first responders across South Florida came together to remember and reflect.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said the attacks on 9/11 were an attempt to overthrow American values through aggression.
“It may have shaken the foundations of the building, but not the foundations of the fundamentals of who we are as Americans, our faith in democracy, our faith in freedom," Mayor Trantalis said. "That will never happen because Americans are firm and strong and they have that resolve to maintain the history and fundamentals of who we are as American people.”
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More than two decades later, Sept. 11 remains a point for reflection on the hijacked-plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, reconfigured national security policy and spurred a U.S. “war on terror” worldwide.
The Fort Lauderdale Fire and Safety Museum and the City of Fort Lauderdale hosted a 9/11 remembrance ceremony Sunday to honor the lives lost and to pay tribute to the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr said Sunday that although the attacks were thousands of miles away, they hit close to home.
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“We are all brothers and sisters throughout the world," Chief Kerr said. " We understand. When we lose one of them, it hurts all of us. To lose 343 firefighters in one incident is overwhelming.”
In Miami-Dade County, Miami Fire Rescue stood at attention in front of each fire station as their alarm office made the announcement at the moment the first plane struck the Twin Towers.
At Tropical Park, Miami-Dade police and fire departments held a ceremony to honor those who have given their all to rescue innocent lives.
