On Thursday, Los Angeles County first responders and officials came together at the LAFD Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Elysian Park for a 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony.
Those in attendance included Mayor Karen Bass, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, LAFD Interim Chief Ronnie Villanueva, Sheriff Robert Luna, and county Fire Chief Anthony Marrone.
“Today we honor those whose lives were tragically cut short and we hold close the families who grieve,” Bass said.
“That morning, between the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, the heroic passengers of Flight 93, nearly 3000 innocent lives were lost,” Villanueva said. “Families were shattered, communities broken, and the nation was shaken.”
In the hours after the tragic events unfolded, 93 L.A. firefighters flew over to help. Captain Frank Lima was among them and attended the ceremony on Thursday. He told KNX News’ Karen Adams what happened was “life-changing.”
“We were the only plane in the United States, and we flew over to Fort Dix in New Jersey,” he said. “We got our cache of tools, drove Javits Center in New York, dumped our tools there, and we went on like a 72-hour blitz on the file, working amongst ourselves, working to support our FDNY sisters and brothers that really literally left their shirts on the field searching.”
Captain Tommy Kitahata was also among those who went to NYC to help.
“Once we got into New York, the open arms of the people in New York, we were just there to assist them to search and to bring some closure to the people that lost family members,” he said.
The ceremony included a 10-bell ceremony and a helicopter flyover.
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