Officers, victims’ households and pals, responders and residents throughout Boston gathered collectively once more Thursday to always remember the 206 Bay Staters and 1000’s of others who died within the 9/11 terror assaults.
“This day, like every other day, is heart wrenching,” mentioned Maureen Gilligan, talking of her brother Gerard Dewan, a New York firefighter who died within the Sept. 11 assault. “We don’t think about him just today. I think about him all year long. We talk about him to keep his memory alive. And he’s missed. He’s missed very much.”
Gilligan laid a wreath on the 9/11 memorial within the Boston Public Backyard with Mayor Michelle Wu in an annual custom on Thursday, joined by a crowd of metropolis and state officers and people remembering the lives misplaced.
Her brother was born to a firefighting household in Boston, Gilligan mentioned, earlier than transferring to New York to serve and answering the decision in 2001.
“He was a very caring young man,” Gilligan remembered, standing within the sunny backyard the place folks have been laying roses on the memorial’s names. “He was kind. He would do anything for anyone.”
Early Thursday morning, Dewan was one in all 206 names of Massachusetts natives and residents killed on 9/11 learn on the steps of the State Home. A second of silence was held at 8:46 a.m., the time the primary airplane struck the World Commerce Middle’s North Tower.
Each United Airways Flight 175 and American Airways Flight 11 that day took off from Boston’s Logan Airport.
“We will always remember Gerry and all those who are not only looking down on us and a legacy that we’re lifting up,” Mayor Michelle Wu mentioned on the memorial Thursday, “but intertwined with the lives and leadership of so many of our community members who continue to do the good work to keep their memories alive and to keep spreading that kindness and good in the world.”
Gov. Maura Healey additionally directed state schooling officers to include 9/11 and its aftermath into college curriculum frameworks Thursday.
“All students should be taught about 9/11 and its aftermath, which is a tragic and important piece of both our state and our nation’s history,” Healey mentioned. “I’m grateful to the families of 9/11 victims who have advocated for this and are making sure that we never forget this horrific tragedy, the incredible displays of heroism on that day, or the thousands of lives that were lost.”
