The Queen Creek community of Encanterra commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with a special event on Friday morning.
About 250 people attended the ceremony, which featured remarks from residents who relayed their first-hand accounts of the attacks, organizer Pat Aritz stated.
Former New York City Police Officer Joe Lutrario helped evacuate children from a day care center on the ground floor of the South Tower. He stayed on site for more than a month in the search for victims and survivors.
Another Encanterra resident, John Cewe, was working in the Pentagon on the day of the attacks.
The ceremony opened with the Poston Butte High School JROTC color guard presenting the colors as the Encanterra Chorale sang the National Anthem.
Queen Creek Police Chaplain Curt McReynolds gave the invocation, followed by a moment of silence.
Throughout the whole ceremony,one man held a flag with all the names of those who died that day, Artiz stated.
On Sept. 11, 2001, two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City. Another slammed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth plane crashed in western Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. Almost 3,000 people died that day.
It’s estimated as many as 6,000 people have died since the attacks on New York City from cancer and other diseases caused by the toxins in air.
Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org. Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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