The flag was raised and retired by the Joint Color Guard of the Merced Sheriff’s Department, Atwater Police Department, and California Highway Patrol.
Firefighters rang a bell as the names of lost first responders were read aloud.
Each year, the flag is raised high above the front lawn of the Atwater Community Center with the help of a fire truck.
Miss Atwater Sophia Lomeli sang the Star Spangled Banner.
Students, dignitaries, first responders, veterans, and families gathered on the front lawn of the Atwater Community Center on Wednesday morning for the city’s annual Day of Remembrance.
The memorial serves as a reminder of the loss our nation endured on Sept. 11, 2001, when the United States fell victim to coordinated suicide attacks by the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda.
“That day impacted the citizens of the United States as they watched the horror at the events that unfolded,” said Mayor Mike Nelson during the ceremony. “At the same time, what came out of those attacks was nothing short of miraculous. Americans of different races, ethnicities, and religions came together under one flag and with one purpose.”
“It felt like the whole country was holding its breath and we were all trying to make sense of what was happening,” said Atwater Police Chief Michael Salvador. “As a police chief and a law enforcement officer, I’ve seen a lot over the years, but nothing could have prepared me for the scale of what happened on 9/11. The attacks were devastating.”
The focus of the ceremony each year is on those who were lost, not only on that fateful September, but through the history of the community.
“What stood out to me at most that day was the incredible courage of first responders all over the country: police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics who ran towards the danger to help others. Many of them made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Chief Salvador. “Their bravery is something that I personally, nor we, should never forget.”