Politics & Government

Mayor Calls for Unity, as Chesterfield Lowers Flags for 9/11 Sunday

Modest turnout at City Hall.

Chesterfield's police turned on their sirens noon Sunday as the city's mayor and four council members carried out a 9/11 commemorative ceremony at City Hall.

Mayor Bruce Geiger and his wife Lynne were part of about a dozen participating in the Pledge of Allegience, the national anthem, and  America the Beautiful while Old Glory and city and state flags were lowered to half mast.

The actions were part of a nationwide Moment of Remembrance, urging Americans to Stop and Remember a decade after al-Qaeda hijackers crashed commercial jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another jet crashed into a Pennsylvania field, killing all aboard, after passengers rallied to overcome the hijackers at the controls.

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Nearly 3,000 died that day as a result of the terrorist attacks.

For one minute Sunday, Americans across the nation were urged to pause at the same time; noon in Chesterfield and the Midwest, 1 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. MDT, and 10 a.m. PDT.

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Four Chesterfield council members joined the ceremony, primarily from Wards 2 and 4, Derek Grier, Elliot Grissom Bob Nation and Connie Fults.

Mayor Geiger spoke of learning about the attacks from his daughter, who was in Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001. He urged her to leave, and she caught the last ferry ride to New Jersey—and home, Geiger said.

Geiger also recalled the sense of unity following the attacks, and urged Americans to act.

"The legacy of that day should be to once again come together as Americans, united to keep this the greatest country in the world," Geiger said. "We were united without regard to ethnicity, religion or politics, we were just Americans."


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