Alsip Church Bells To Mark 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

ALSIP, IL — The Village of Alsip will observe the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on America, with a gathering and the tolling of village church bells. Residents will start gathering at 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 11, at Veterans Plaza, 118th Street and Pulakski Road.

Almost 3,000 people were killed during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush. At least 6,000 people were injured.

At 8:46 a.m., church bells will ring 20 times, the approximate moment when American Airlines Flight 11 (travelling from Boston to Los Angeles) struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

The sequence of bells will repeat 9:03 a.m., when United Airlines Flight 175, also traveling from Boston to Los Angeles, flew into the South Tower; and at 9:37 a.m. when American Airlines Flight 77, flying from Dulles, VA to Los Angeles, crashed into the Pentagon. At approximately 10:03 a.m., the bells will chime a final time, when passengers brought down Flight 93, traveling from Newark, NJ to San Francisco, in a field in Shanksville, PA.

“I, myself, cannot believe it has been 20 years. I remember where I was and what I was doing when it all happened, as I am sure you do as well,” Mayor John Ryan said in a statement. “I feel with everything that is going on in our country, from the Middle East to our first responders to all us dealing with COVID, we need to come together to remember the importance of this nation.”