‘A necessity to come together’ | Dozens gather in Rockford to commemorate 9/11 anniversary

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Dozens of firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement officers and others gathered Wednesday morning at the county’s 9/11 memorial to remember and honor the people who lost their lives in the attacks on this day 23 years ago.

A brief ceremony and moment of silence was held, and a wreath was placed near two steel beams from the World Trade Center that are the centerpiece of the memorial at the corner of West State Street and Kilburn Avenue.

“Many of us are alive today and remember what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, and 23 years later it just feels still there,” said Will Pederson, a district chief with the Rockford fire department and president of the Winnebago County 9/11 Emergency Responders Memorial. “On Sept. 11 of any year, I think the country feels that there’s a necessity to come together … and that’s the way it should be.”

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The memorial includes a statue of a firefighter with 343 on his helmet shield to represent the number of firefighters who died responding to the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. An additional 370 firefighters have died from 9/11-related illnesses from toxins inhaled during the response.

The memorial also has a statue of a police officer with 60 emblazoned on his badge to represent the police officers who died during the response. A statue of a medic includes the number eight for the emergency medical technicians who died on 9/11.

The three statues rest on a pentagon, representing the location where Flight 77 crashed killing all 64 people on the plane and 125 people in the Pentagon. A brick walkway leading to the memorial includes 40 stars to represent the passengers who died on United Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after it was hijacked by terrorists.

The site also serves as a memorial for first responders and law enforcement officers from Winnebago County who died in the line of duty.

Those at the ceremony included Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd, Rockford Fire Chief Michele Pankow, Winnebago County Sheriff Gary Caruana, State’s Attorney J. Hanley, former chief judge Joe McGraw, Winnebago County Board Chairman Joe Chiarelli, and many emergency workers from different parts of the county.

“Anybody who lived through this event, it’s made an indelible mark on us and on our country,” McGraw said.

McGraw is challenging Congressman Eric Sorensen in the 17th Congressional District and has made border security chief among his campaign issues. He stressed that message again on Wednesday, saying border security was key to preventing attacks like the one 23 years ago.

“It’s important from our collective history and hopefully learn from it. If we don’t learn from it we’re doomed to repeat it,” McGraw said. “We should be more vigilant, we should be more on guard, we should secure the border and protect ourselves from threats that are apparent that have already been made.”

The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people.

Pedersen said it’s important to remember the people who lost their lives and to honor the heroism and sacrifice of the first responders who rushed to the scene.

“9/11 represents the first time that our entire United States, the American citizens, were actually seeing in real time how firefighters, police officers and EMTs were doing the work to save as many people as possible while sacrificing many of their own lives,” he said. “We hope they are always remembered, we hope they are always cared for.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas