'We Have To Remember This': Pre-Dawn Ceremony Commemorates 20th Anniversary Of 9/11 In Torrance
TORRANCE (CBSLA) — Firefighters, police officers, and members of the community gathered before dawn Saturday to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11.
The solemn event took place in the pre-dawn darkness in front of a flag-draped Torrance City Hall. A few dozen gathered to bow their heads and listen to a bagpipe player open the ceremony.
"Pardon the emotions, but it's an important day to pass that down to our kids," one attendee said.
On such a solemn morning, Doug Borstel wanted to stay in the back of the crowd. His nephew had been on the 101st floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower when a plane came crashing through.
"It's kind of weird, I was just there two weeks ago," he said. That visit is when he made an etching of his nephew's name at the memorial – Kenneth Frederick Rice.
Some of the larger Sept. 11 memorials that would have taken place in Southern California for such a significant milestone were canceled due to the elevated levels of COVID-19. But the city of Torrance felt it important to continue on with its ceremony, to keep the memories alive, and the conversation going.
"It's something we should never forget. We have to remember this," Mayor Patrick Furey said. "Almost 3,000 souls going about their daily jobs and it was over just like that."
