Lawrenceville Hosts Ceremony Honoring 9/11

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA —A number of first responders and Gwinnett County officials met in front of the Fallen Heroes Memorial at the Gwinnett Justice Administration Center in Lawrenceville to mark the 20th anniversary of September 11, one of several events around the county marking the somber anniversary.

First responders remembered the fallen and lay wreaths in front of a lowered American flag, which was attended by about 50 people and also streamed virtually.

Gwinnett County Commissioner Jasper Watkins remembered his experience heading into the Pentagon that morning for work on the Washington, DC metro train. “From the left, before we were going down, one of the members of the party said, ‘Hey, this is not the flight path, you know, this plane is not in the flight path,” he said. “And then we went down and the train abruptly stopped kind of midway and then scooted up, and that’s when we knew the Pentagon was hit.”

Lawrenceville resident and New York native Marlene Crawford remembered worrying for the safety of her father, who worked just a few blocks away from the World Trade Center. “It was terrifying because you’re also thinking, ‘What’s next? What else is going to happen?’” she said.

Cities and towns all over Gwinnett County found their own unique ways to honor the anniversary. In Lillburn, school bus driver Daniele Roberts and her family spent many months creating 2,977 paper cranes to honor every single person killed in the hijacked planes. Each crane bears the name of a victim on its back. The cranes were unveiled Saturday, and will hang from an oak tree at Lilburn City park.

Events were also held at the Betty Mauldin Park in Norcross, Red Clay Music Foundry in Duluth, and Suwanee Town Center Park, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.