Hattiesburg, Miss. (Hattiesburg American) – The city of Hattiesburg will hold its annual 9/11 ceremony to honor the first responders and civilians whose lives were lost in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Hattiesburg’s annual ceremony will begin at 8:40 a.m. Wednesday inside the Hattiesburg Cultural Center, 723 Main St., across from the 9/11 Memorial and Fire Station 1.

The event is typically held outdoors, but with the approach of Tropical Storm Francine and impending rain, the event this year was moved indoors.

A bell will be rung at 8:46 a.m. and again at 9:03 a.m. — the moments American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center.

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann will deliver the keynote address, with remarks by Fire Chief Sherrocko Stewart, Police Chief Hardy Sims and Mayor Toby Barker.

Music will be provided by the Hattiesburg High School String Quartet.

On Sunday, Mayor Toby Barker proclaimed this week as Fire Personnel Week to honor local firefighters and department staff.

And on Tuesday, Hattiesburg police and fire departments will participate in a memorial stair climb at The Rock at the University of Southern Mississippi, where they will climb 2,071 steps to pay tribute to the 343 members of the Fire Department of New York, 37 officers from the Port Authority, NY and NJ and the many others who gave their lives that day.

On Sunday, Mayor Toby Barker proclaimed this week as Fire Personnel Week to honor local firefighters and department staff.

And on Tuesday, Hattiesburg police and fire departments will participate in a memorial stair climb at The Rock at the University of Southern Mississippi, where they will climb 2,071 steps to pay tribute to the 343 members of the Fire Department of New York, 37 officers from the Port Authority, NY and NJ and the many others who gave their lives that day.

On Sept. 11, 2001, four commercial airplanes were crash-landed with the intent to kill after terrorists took over the flights. Two crashed into Towers 1 and 2 of the World Trade Center. One crashed into the Pentagon. The fourth was forced down into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after passengers attempted to regain control from the terrorists.

Members of the Hattiesburg Fire Honor Guard participate in the city’s annual 9/11 memorial service in this file photo.
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In all, 2,977 people were killed, including 412 emergency workers in New York City. Nearly 350 of those workers were firefighters.

At least four people with ties to Mississippi died on Sept. 11, 2001. One Mississippian died in New York. The other three died at the Pentagon.

  • James Cleere, a 1964 Hattiesburg High School graduate living in Des Moines, Iowa, was an insurance representative who had been sent to a company meeting in New York. He was staying at the Marriott World Trade Center, which stood between the twin towers. In 2002, a memorial named Liberty Garden in Town Square Park was dedicated to Cleere and the other victims of the 9/11 attacks.
  • Ada Mason-Acker, 50, originally from Picayune, graduated from Jackson State University. She was a budget analyst for the Army and died while working in the Pentagon.
  • Jerry Don “D.D.” Dickerson, 41, grew up in Yazoo County and spent his last two years of high school in Durant. A systems analyst and lieutenant colonel in the Army, he was killed while working in the Pentagon.
  • James “Joe” Ferguson, 39, who grew up in Durant, was director of the National Geographic Society’s geography education outreach program. He died on board American Airlines Flight 77, the plane that flew into the Pentagon.

In an uncanny coincidence, Dickerson and Ferguson were friends from Durant High School. Dickerson was killed on the ground, while his friend flew overhead on the airplane which would cause his death.

View Original Story (Sept. 9, 2024)