Mesquite, TX – September 7, 2021 – The City of Mesquite will host a sunrise memorial to commemorate Patriot Day which is the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The public event will begin at 8:30 a.m. on September 11 at Mesquite Freedom Park located at the Mesquite Arts Center, 1527 N. Galloway Ave.
Mesquite Fire Chief Russell Wilson explained, “This year’s program will be especially meaningful as we recognize the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The event will include a musical performance, special presentations, the reading of both the Police and Firefighter Prayer, and the Mesquite Police and Fire Department joint color guard as well as the Mesquite Fire Department Pipe and Drum Corps.” Wilson explained that Americans dedicate Patriot Day to remembering those who died and to the first responders who risked their own lives to save others.
Mesquite’s annual 9/11 Memorial Service is a tribute of remembrance, honoring the victims killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center site in New York, near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and in Washington, D.C at the Pentagon. Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the World Trade Center, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority.
In 2011, the Mesquite Fire Department was entrusted with a historic piece of steel from one of the Twin Towers destroyed on 9/11. Mesquite received it from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey through their World Trade Center Artifact Program. At that time, Mesquite became only the third city in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to participate in the historic program. The 15-foot long, 575-pound twisted beam is the centerpiece of Mesquite Freedom Park. With the support of the local community, the City of Mesquite created an outdoor place of gathering, reflection, and celebration of freedom on the North Lawn of the Mesquite Arts Center. A dedication ceremony was held on September 11, 2016 as the country marked the 15th anniversary of 9/11.