As a train rumbled by and the familiar clanging of the crossing arm bell rang out in the morning air, it all seemed normal.

And that, said Escalon Fire Chief Rick Mello, is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 brought the annual observance hosted by Escalon Consolidated Fire Protection District, this year marking 23 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That was the day hijackers forced two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City and another into the Pentagon. A fourth plane, United Flight 93, went down in a field in rural Pennsylvania, as passengers fought back against the hijackers and kept the plane from reaching its intended target.

The department has put on a memorial each year since Mello took over as chief in Escalon; this year there were brief remarks by Mello, San Joaquin County Supervisor Robert Rickman and Pastor Arney Corbin of Trinity Church. Couper Condit also presented a proclamation on behalf of Assemblyman Heath Flora and special guests included representatives of the Escalon Police Department and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department, including Sheriff Patrick Withrow.

Mello commented on the sound of the train, noting that Sept. 11, 2001 started out as a ‘normal’ day but became something much different than that as the terrorist attacks unfolded.

The ceremony also featured a couple of signature songs, Have You Forgotten, by Darryl Worley and God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood. A solemn bell ceremony, tolling the final bell for firefighters who have given their life in the line of duty, was also staged. The flag at the firehouse was put up, then lowered to half-staff.

Mello provided a chronology of the events of that day, 23 years ago, starting with the north tower of the World Trade Center being struck at 8:46 a.m., followed by the second plane hitting the south tower at 9:03 a.m.

The Pentagon was struck at 9:40 a.m. and the final plane crashed in the Pennsylvania field at 10:10 a.m.

Th south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 10:05 a.m.; the north tower at 10:28 a.m.

The death toll was massive: over 2650 people died in the collapse of the towers, along with 125 people at the Pentagon and more than 260 on board the airplanes. Also, 37 Port Authority officers, 23 New York City police officers and 343 New York City firefighters died that day.

“Sharing some additional numbers, when we did this the first time 18 years ago, I shared my prediction that we would see well over 10,000 casualties as a result of the attacks that day,” Mello told the crowd of roughly 60 people that gathered for the Wednesday morning ceremony in front of the Coley Avenue firehouse.

But he said his estimates were, unfortunately, low, as the first responders exposed to toxic substances fell ill and the subsequent War on Terror sparked by the attacks has also added to the toll.

“Military casualties, there have been 7,078 troops that have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said. “Responder cancers, there have been over 34,000; that number wanes over the years, it will go down because people die, it will then go up because people get sick … 7,000 survivors and first responders have died and 360 members of the fire department of the City of New York have died; 343 killed that day, 360 now have died since.”

Mello said there are also still over 1,100 people who remain unidentified, lost in the collapse of the towers.

“We choose to remember that we don’t forget those who gave so much,” Pastor Arney Corbin said in his remarks, offering thanks to the first responders in attendance for their continued service.

“Every year on September 11 we look back at the heroic actions and courage of ordinary people who in their darkest moment reached out to help their fellow Americans,” said Supervisor Robert Rickman. “We remember how ordinary people chose to risk and give their lives and to help their fellow Americans escape the Trade Center as the building was crumbling around them.”

Following the roughly 40-minute ceremony, attendees had a chance to visit with the first responders as well as share refreshments provided by the fire department. Mello said he will continue hosting the annual memorial as long as he is serving as chief in Escalon.