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Sequim honors victims and first responders at Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony
Summary
City officials, first responders and survivors gathered in Sequim on Sept. 11, 2025 to mark the anniversary, hear personal accounts from a Pentagon witness and a volunteer who brought a Tower artifact to town, and recognize the ongoing service of local emergency personnel.
Unidentified Speaker opened a City of Sequim remembrance ceremony on Sept. 11, asking the crowd to join a moment of silence and explaining that bells would be rung at 9:03 a.m. to mark the moment United Airlines Flight 175 struck the second World Trade Center tower.
Sergeant Daryl Nelson, Sequim Police Department, described volunteering to bring a piece of steel from the Twin Towers to Sequim for the 10th anniversary. "We put it in the back door pickup truck and we brought it from New York here," Nelson said, recounting stops at the Pentagon and the Flight 93 site in Pennsylvania and recalling how community members everywhere wanted to "lay their hands and rest on that steel." Nelson said the journey reinforced the nationwide solidarity that followed 9/11.
Fire Chief Justin Ryder highlighted the sacrifices of firefighters and first responders. He recalled Michael Camarata, identified in his remarks as a 22-year-old Ladder 11 firefighter who died on Sept. 11, and noted that 343 firefighters were killed that day. "These wounds do heal," Ryder said, "but they leave that scar," and he urged the community to carry forward the legacy of service shown on that day.
Mark Abshire, retired lieutenant colonel, spoke of being at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. He described evacuating the building, seeing smoke and structural collapse, and walking home amid the silence that followed the attack. "We all felt that something had changed forever," Abshire said, framing remembrance as a call to preserve national unity and to honor the lives lost by continuing to serve others.
Deputy Mayor Rachel Anderson spoke about her memory of being an 11-year-old on that day and the lasting impact on families. "On this day, we pause to remember the lives taken from us," Anderson said, urging the audience to honor the victims "not only in words, but in the way that we live our lives with kindness and with courage and with care for one another." The host closed by thanking city staff, first responders and attendees and noting hospitality arrangements following the program.
The ceremony combined personal testimony, a physical artifact linked to the attacks and official remarks from local leaders to underscore remembrance, gratitude and a call to community service. No formal actions or votes were taken during the event.
