Indy Airport Commemorates 22nd Anniversary of 9/11
Event commemorates the individuals who lost their lives in terrorist attacks
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 11, 2023) – The Indianapolis Airport Authority hosted its annual ceremony at the Indianapolis International Airport (IND) to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. The ceremony honored the nearly 3,000 individuals who lost their lives this day 22 years ago.
IAA first responders and local officials from the Transportation Security Administration participated in today’s annual ceremony to remember victims and first responders who lost their lives at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and United Flight 93 over Pennsylvania.
“We unite each year here at the Indianapolis International Airport to remember and honor those who perished on this fateful day, and we also recognize how we’ve endured and continue to rise as a community and a nation,” said IAA Executive Director Mario Rodriguez. “The willingness of our first responders to sacrifice for their fellow Americans has earned them our lasting gratitude.”
A piece of the World Trade Center steel recovered from Ground Zero, measuring approximately 12” x 12” x 6” and weighing about 40 pounds, was placed on display in Civic Plaza for the day.
“For more than two decades now we have met here on this day to honor so many -- the brave first responders, the passengers of Flight 93 whose courage and strength saved so many on that day, and the American spirit that continues to endure in the face of adversity,” said IAA Sr. Director of Operations and Public Safety Keith Berlen.
In 2011, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey presented the recovered steel to local Indianapolis public safety responders and IAA employees who assisted at the attack site in 2001. The artifact remains on display permanently at the Indy airport’s fire station 1 throughout the year.
“This artifact is a symbol of the bravery and sacrifice that are the bedrocks of our nation, as the resolve of the courageous first responders demonstrated when they rushed into peril at Ground Zero,” said IAA Fire Chief Fred Pervine. “Their legacy lives on, and we remember them on this day each year to ensure it does.”