Hundreds of people from across North Texas attended a ceremony Monday morning in Grapevine to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
The city of Grapevine dedicated the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial at Texan Trail and Northwest Highway in 2008 to remember 33 pilots and flight attendants killed in the terrorist attack.
Two of the four flights were American Airlines: Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles hit the North Tower at 7:46 a.m. (Central); Flight 77 from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles hit the Pentagon at 8:37 a.m.
"Flight attendants were among first responders of that day relaying critical information from the cabins of the hijacked airplanes to those who were on the ground," says Association of Professional Flight Attendants DFW Base President Amber De Roxtra. "We'll never forget their bravery or heroism."
Pilot Chris Torres was in the Air Force and serving at a base in the United Kingdom the day of the attacks.
"Everybody who's here who was alive when that happened, that recollection is seared into your memory as it is mine," he says. "Everybody here remembers exactly where they were, what they were doing when that happened."
Some attending say they come every year and hope, even though 22 years have passed, the generation entering the workforce now will hear stories about the attacks and remember their significance.
One couple who now live in North Texas lived in New York City the day of the attacks. They say they were reminded of what happened every day as they commuted to work into the city.
"For months, you saw the distant smoke, the smell of that," one woman said. "I remember we were waiting for them to say they're bringing out survivors. It's something you don't forget."
"The main highway that led into that region, from a distance, you didn't see those two iconic towers anymore," her husband said.
Some schools took classes to the memorial Monday, and some families brought their kids.
Parents said they hope to show their kids the importance of patriotism and unity.
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"There are some things on this Earth that will bring everybody together because we are so divided," a woman said.
"If anything, you don't appreciate what you have until it's gone," her husband added. "That's something you don't realize is your freedom is something important."
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