Hillsborough County To Host Patriot Day, 9/11 Remembrance Event Friday

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Twenty-one years after the attacks that sparked the nation’s War on Terror, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Consumer & Veterans Services and the Veterans Council of Hillsborough County will host a Patriot Day: 9/11 Remembrance Friday at 9 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park & Rear Admiral LeRoy Collins Jr. Museum, 3602 U.S. 301 N., Tampa.

First responders, military professionals and civic leaders will honor the many victims of 9/11 and pay reaffirm their pledge to duty on Patriot Day.

The one-hour ceremony will include:

• A unified honor guard from multiple fire department agencies.
• A giant American flag hoisted by ladder trucks.
• Youth fire academy cadets and teen singer Gabriella Jaramillo.
• A solemn escort of a 135-pound section of a steel beam salvaged from New York City’s World Trade Center twin towers that is on display at Veterans Memorial Park.
• A fire service bell ceremony conducted by Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Captain Brian Muldowney in honor of his late brother, Richard Muldowney, who served with the New York City Fire Department and perished during the rescue mission at Ground Zero in 2001.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Chief Dennis Jones, who was appointed Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief in 2015.

Also participating in the tribute will be fire department commanders including Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Barbara Tripp, Plant City Fire Rescue Chief David Burnett and Temple Terrace Fire Rescue Chief Ian Kemp.

Free resources such as crisis counseling and Veterans’ benefits assistance will be available and on display.

Those attending are welcome to bring lawn chairs and tour the park's memorials after the ceremony.

For information, call Hillsborough County Consumer & Veterans Services at 813-635-8316 or click here.