Apache Junction to mark 25 years since 9/11 with memorial ceremony

Twenty-five years after Sept. 11, 2001, the images and acts of courage that defined that day remain vivid. On Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, the Apache Junction community will gather to honor the lives lost and reflect on the unity that followed.

The City of Apache Junction will host a 25th anniversary memorial ceremony at 8 a.m. at Apache Junction Veterans’ Memorial Park, 1001 N. Idaho Road. The hourlong observance will bring together city leaders, first responders, schools and community organizations, with 25 participating groups each presenting a wreath to represent one year since the attacks, according to a release.

“Even 25 years later, people still remember exactly where they were and how that day felt,” Apache Junction Councilmember Bambi Johnson, who is helping lead the memorial effort, said in the release. “We also remember how people showed up for each other afterward. This ceremony is a chance to honor those we lost, recognize the courage we saw that day and help younger generations understand why Sept. 11 still matters.”

The remembrance is a joint effort involving the City of Apache Junction, police and fire personnel, city council members, local schools and organizations from across the area.

Among those community partners is Mountain View Funeral Home & Cemetery. Elisa Krcilek, vice president of Mountain View Funeral Home & Cemetery, serves on the event committee, and the organization will present a wreath during the ceremony. Mountain View will also provide water and distribute commemorative challenge coins to attendees.

For Krcilek, the anniversary is about more than recalling where people were on one September morning. It is also about what happened in the days that followed.

“Sept. 11 changed all of us, but what I remember just as much is how people came together afterward,” Krcilek said. “At Mountain View, we are with families during some of the hardest moments of their lives, so being part of this remembrance is important to us. It’s a way to stand with our community, honor those who were lost and remember the strength people showed when it mattered most.”

The ceremony will honor those who lost their lives, along with the first responders, service members and civilians whose courage became part of the day’s lasting legacy.

Winners of Apache Junction’s 9/11 anniversary student essay contest are expected to be recognized as part of the city’s broader commemoration.

The milestone anniversary also carries a responsibility to pass the story forward. Many students taking part in this year’s remembrance were born years after the attacks, meaning their understanding of Sept. 11 comes through history lessons, family stories and the traditions communities choose to preserve, the release states.