Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner has taken a central role in organizing a weekend-long recognition of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on The World Trade Center. Werner says the activities—titled "9/11: Weekend of Remembrance and Honor"—are aimed at remembering the victims of the attack and celebrating the efforts of the men and women who work in the emergency services and the military.
“This isn’t about supporting wars. This isn’t about politics. This is just to the root of the matter of remembering all those that died that day and the families and friends that were adversely effected,” said Werner.
To see the full schedule of events, visit cville9-11.org.
Over 300 people have already registered to participate Saturday morning in the Stephen Tillers Tunnel to Towers 5K run, which starts at University Hall. Stephen Tillers was a firefighter who ran from Brooklyn to the World Trade Center, where he died.
Sunday’s activities at the Downtown Mall include a National Guard fly-over, a parade of honor, a commemorative ceremony, and a display of emergency equipment. Werner said his interest in organizing the event was to encourage careers in public service and promote community-based volunteerism.
“It’s the largest display of emergency service equipment in the 34 years I’ve been here. It’s a chance for people to see these vehicles and the people who work in these organizations and it’s all tied to the opportunity for people to volunteer or explore careers in the various service organizations,” Werner said.
Werner said he was motivated to take a role in planning a community remembrance because he remembers feeling the way the country came together in the wake of the attacks and wants to revive that spirit.
“It seemed to me that this was an appropriate time for us—for lack of a better term—to rally around the flag. To come together with a sense of unity as a community and as a country, to take the losses we suffered that day and to make something meaningful out of it,” Werner said.