Ten Years After 9/11: Remembrance Ceremony Will Be Held Sunday

The city of Ankeny will host a special ceremony Sunday morning in observance of the tenth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The will hold the remembrance ceremony on the front ramp of the department starting at 8:30 a.m., just as it has every year since the tragedies in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa.

“There’s enough connection here to those fallen fighters,” said Ankeny Fire Chief Rex Mundt. “With that significant of a loss, we don’t want to forget what happened.”

At Sunday’s ceremony, an American flag will be displayed on the front of a ladder truck. Mundt, Ankeny Mayor Steven Van Oort and an Ankeny Fire Department chaplain will give short presentations.

The ceremony follows the International Association of Fire Chiefs recommendations, which also includes a moment of silence with bells ceremony.

“In the past, bells were used to signify the end of something,” Mundt said. “Now, they’re simply used to honor a firefighter who has lost their life.”

The ceremony is expected to last no longer than 30 minutes.

Mundt said over the years, there has been talk of turning the ceremony into a much larger event, but the fire department prefers to keep it small and intimate.

“We want to keep it simple, respectful,” Mundt said. “The words we speak are chosen carefully, and the department appreciates them.”

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