USF to Commemorate 23rd Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

September 4, 2024 | Sarasota

The University of South Florida at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, will commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa., with a ceremony at the Sarasota-Manatee campus.

The featured speaker will be John “Jack” McDonnell of Lakewood Ranch, who retired as a battalion chief with the Fire Department of New York.

On Sept. 11, 2001, McDonnell was on an annual golf outing about two hours from the city with about 40 friends and colleagues he made during his then-28-year firefighting career. His foursome was waiting to tee off when at about 9 a.m. someone came out of the clubhouse to tell them that the TV was reporting some awful news from New York.

“We saw the second plane hit, then said, ‘Let’s get back to the hotel to get our stuff so we can get back to the city,’” McDonnell said.

By the time McDonnell, then the captain for Ladder Company 24, based near Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan, arrived at Ground Zero at around noon, both World Trade Center towers had fallen. He joined in the search for survivors of the worst-ever terrorist attack in U.S. history.

More than 2,750 people were killed in the attack on New York, including 343 firefighters, many of whom McDonnell knew.

“It was surreal. We were looking at over 20 acres of destruction at a location I was familiar with,” McDonnell said.

Organizer Carlos Moreira said the 9/11 ceremony highlights the continued importance of commemorating the lives lost on 9/11 and honoring the firefighters, police officers, paramedics and other first responders, as well as members of the military, for their service to their communities and to the nation.

“We will never forget the sacrifices made on Sept. 11, 2001, by those who bravely did their duty to try to rescue as many people as they could,” said Moreira, director of campus engagement for veteran success and alumni affairs at USF Sarasota-Manatee. “We also want to honor those who continue to serve to protect us.”

McDonnell  also wants to remind attendees of exactly what happened almost 23 years ago in New York.

“This was an attack on civilians, the whole of the American citizenry,” he said. “The intent of the terrorists was to kill people who were simply going to work. The victims were murdered.”

Others expected to participate in the event include USF Sarasota-Manatee Regional Chancellor Karen Holbrook and representatives of local veterans and public safety organizations.

On Saturday, Sept. 7, volunteers will plant 2,997 American flags — one for each person killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pa.  — on the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus courtyard. Volunteers will plant the flags starting at 9 a.m.

To ask questions, contact Moreira or Ashlie Cruz at sm-veteranssuccess@usf.edu or 941-359-4291.