Acushnet Remembers 9-11

By Beth David, Editor

The town of Acushnet held its annual 9-11 ceremony on 9/11/26, the 25th anniversary of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history. The town has a 9-11 memorial at the Fire Station on Russell Street at Parting Ways with artifacts from all three sites, including a steel beam weighing 2700 pounds from the Twin Towers; concrete from the Pentagon, where Flight 77 crashed; a stone from the field in Shanksville, PA, where Flight 93 crashed. 

A sign also has a timeline of the events, which reads: “Acushnet will always remember the 149 minutes that forever changed our lives.”

Acushnet Fire Chief, Thomas Farland, reminded the crowd of about  75 people that we all remember where we were, and we need to pass on the memory to future generations.

The attack killed 2,877 people that, including 343 Firefighters. In the years since then, another 400 fire­fighters have died from illnesses related to that day.’

Chief Farland thanked the many people who made the memorial possible, including former Fire Chief Kevin Gallagher, who spearheaded the creation of the memorial; Adam and Jeremiah Katz, who designed and built it, along with UMassD professor Erik Lintale.

The Katz brothers could not be there, so their father, Howie, carried the wreath with Mr. Lintale during the ceremony.

“It was a large project that took months and months of planning and a lot of help from the community, both officials from the town, businesses from the town, and the general public to make this what you see today,” said Chief Farland.

He also thanked the people who continue to maintain the grounds on a regular basis.

Fr. Ryan Healy, pastor at St. Francis Xavier, gave an invocation; FF Mike Ledger raised the flag from its half mast position; FF Matt Morriseau rang the 5-5-5 bell; the crowd said the pledge of allegiance; and the Chief played taps on his phone. There was also a moment of silence for all the military personnel who lost their lives during operations after the attacks.

Chief Farland explained that Fire Departments are “rife with tradition.” One of those is the 5-5-5 bell. Before the days of mass communication, the church bell would ring 5 times, pause, 5 times, pause, 5 times to let the community know that a firefighter had lost his life in the line of duty. 

“We must also never forget the military that serve and protect us every day, that responded in the wake of those attacks and allow us to keep our freedoms and liberty and the life we lead today,” said the Chief. 

He thanked everyone for helping to keep Acushnet’s promise to never forget.

“Because we all remember where we were when it happened, and now we get to pass on to our next generation how we remember, and keep everybody’s’ memories alive,” he said.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” said Andrea Souza of Acushnet, who lost a cousin in the North Tower, adding that she refused to put TV on all day.

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 25 years,” said Jim Souza, adding that when it goes by fast, it means you never stopped thinking about it.

“I’m glad people turn out for things like this,” he said. 

He said he was welding under water in Boston Harbor when it happened. 

“I’m ready to cry,” said Ms. Souza. “I’ve got my tissues.”

Donald Baron said he was there for all the souls lost on that day. 

Paul Lareau was driving a commer­cial truck on the highway in New Jersey on his way to Chicago. He said he woman in the toll booth was hysterical. She was the one who told him. He stopped at a truck stop for food and the TV room was packed, he said. Everyone was just watching. No one was going anywhere.

Mr. Lareau also said he has visited the 9-11 memorial in New York City, and, “It was amazing.”

Visit https://www.911memorial.org to explore the 9-11 memorial at the site of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. 

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Click here to download the 9/17/26 issue: 09-17-26 Remember911

9-11 Audio file courtesy of Elizabeth Cardoso-Medeiros

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