RICHMOND, Va. β The Virginia War Memorial hosted the Commonwealth's Patriot Day ceremony Thursday morning, honoring those lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
A memorial bell tolled three times for the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York, at the Pentagon and aboard Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 24 years ago.
Keynote speaker Rear Admiral Samuel Cox cautioned the audience to understand the threat to U.S. interests remains to this day. Others urged everyone to remember those who died and the sense of unity that emerged from that terrible day.
"We have that moment in time, just the days and weeks after 9/11, where we really did for an extended period of time, we set down our differences. Our race, creed, religion didn't matter. Everybody set aside our differences to reflect. Coming to an event like this, great way to remember, great way to pause, great way to educate your kids, your grandkids. That's what we want," said one speaker.
John Riley with the Freedom Flag Foundation pointed out that Virginia was the first state to adopt the Freedom Flag as its official 9/11 remembrance symbol. He said the passage of a bill before the California Legislature should put that flag on its way to national adoption.
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