PHOTO: Retired New York City fire captain Joseph Russo speaks Saturday to a crowd of more than 300 gathered at the 9/11 memorial ceremony in downtown Mountain Home.
Baxter County’s first responders marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with a memorial ceremony Saturday in downtown Mountain Home.
More than 300 people filled the Veterans Memorial Plaza for the program, which was organized by the Baxter County Fire Chiefs Association.
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists weaponized four commercial jets by hijacking the planes and crashing them into buildings in New York City and Washington, D.C. Two planes struck the World Trade Center complex in New York, ultimately destroying the city’s iconic Twin Towers. Another plane crashed into the side of the Pentagon in Washington, and the fourth crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 attacks and more than 6,000 others were injured. The death toll included 265 people aboard the four airplanes involved in the attacks, a total of 2,606 people in the World Trade Center and the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon.
Of the almost 3,000 people killed during the attacks, 343 were firefighters, 72 were law enforcement officers and 55 were military personnel.
Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, one of two speakers at Saturday’s memorial ceremony, says the first responders on scene that morning paid a heavy price.
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Retired New York City firefighter Joseph Russo served as the event’s keynote speaker. Russo, who served as captain of the FDNY’s Engine Company 254 in Brooklyn, was on leave pending his retirement when 9/11 attacks happened. He had driven past the Twin Towers earlier that morning on his way to a breakfast meeting of civilian fire professionals.
While at that meeting, the group learned that the first plane had struck the World Trade Center’s North Tower. Not long after, Russo received a cell phone call from a family member asking him to help shepherd a young relative out of downtown Manhattan.
In all, Russo helped three family members make their way to safety that morning, a decision he says perhaps saved his life. Had he not be assisting loved ones, he most likely would have been at the World Trade Center complex when the North and South towers collapsed, he said.
Once his family members were safe, Russo reported to a Manhattan fire department to assist with recovery efforts. He was eventually sent to the World Trade Center site about 6:15 that night to help search for survivors.
Russo describes what awaited for him at the site of the collapsed towers, which became known as Ground Zero.
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More than 250 FDNY firefighters have since died from illnesses linked to the dust, jet fuel and other hazardous chemicals they were exposed to while working at Ground Zero.
Russo would eventually spend 16 days assisting on the site of the former World Trade Center complex.
After sharing his personal 9/11 story, Russo then pivoted to the emergency personnel that made the ultimate sacrifice that fateful morning.
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Russo says the sacrifices of those first responders should not be forgotten.
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Following his remarks, Russo presented a piece of steel from the World Trade Center to the City of Mountain Home. The 50-pound piece of metal, which comes from one of the Twin Towers, will be added to the Veterans Plaza on permanent display.
A flag of honor bearing the names of those killed on 9/11 — along with the names of those killed in the Feb. 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing — was also presented to the county’s first responders. It will be displayed at the Baxter County Fire Training Center.
A bell ceremony, symbolically signifying a fire fighter’s final call out and response, was also performed as part of Saturday’s ceremony.
Following the ceremony, the county’s first responders and their families attended an appreciation luncheon at the Baxter County Fairgrounds.
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