Indy Ceremony Marks 9/11 Anniversary
INDIANAPOLIS — At a ceremony marking the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, former New York Police Department Chief Chuck Dowd spoke at the 9/11 Memorial in downtown Indianapolis.
“Even though in our heads we knew there was nothing we could have done to prevent that attack or stop those buildings from coming down,” Dowd said, “in our hearts, we felt like we had failed. First responders hate to fail. We hate it. And it had a demoralizing effect on us, especially in those first few weeks.”
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, including hundreds of first responders. Dowd said the morale of the NYPD and other emergency services was lifted not by time, but by the support that poured in from across the country, including Indiana.
“What changed it for us was this. The support,” Dowd said. “Support from public safety not just from around the country, but around the world. This morning you heard about Indiana Task Force 1. They came, and so did many others.”
One of those responders was David Richards, now Indianapolis fire chief, who had just begun his fire service career in 2001. On the morning of 9/11, he was off duty and preparing to meet a friend for brunch when the news broke.
“I thought I was going to have a normal day,” Richards said. “I had only been on the job a couple of years. I’m former military. But it just hit you. I’m getting chills now thinking about it.”
Richards reflected on the impact the attacks had on his career and on the fire service as a whole.
“For a lot of people today, 9/11 is something they read about. It’s history,” he said. “Maybe like Pearl Harbor was for me. You know about it, you read about it, but you don’t get that feeling, that gut feeling, unless you lived through it.”
The Indianapolis ceremony included remarks from local officials, members of Indiana Task Force 1, and other public safety leaders who responded after the attacks. A bell rang at 8:46 a.m., the moment the first plane struck the North Tower, and again at 9:03 a.m. for the South Tower.
