Chicago Area Remembers 9/11: Firefighters Honor Fallen Comrades, Cantigny Park Displays World Trade Center Beams
CHICAGO (CBS) -- From the city to the suburbs, events all over the Chicago area are paying tribute to the victims and heroes of 9/11.
The Chicago Fire Department honored their fallen comrades in New York, with a moment of silence Wednesday morning at Engine 42 fire station in River North, in memory of the FDNY firefighters who died 18 years ago today, responding to the attacks on the World Trade Center.
Firefighters also rang out signal 5-5-5, the old telegraph code for the end of duty. Now, three sets of five rings of a bell signal the final call of duty for fallen firefighters, including the 343 FDNY firefighters who died on 9/11.
"We can never forget, and we've got to keep giving testimony to the lives that were lost," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.
Meantime, in west suburban Wheaton, two steel beams from the World Trade Center twin towers anchored a 9/11 memorial at Cantigny Park, centering a new permanent exhibit outside the First Division Museum.
"Not only can you see the beam, you can actually touch the beam, and really get a sense of the power of that day," said Krewasky Salter, executive director of First Division Museum
The museum features artifacts and exhibits dating back as far as World War I, and tells the story of the members of the military who went to war as a result of 9/11 -- specifically those in the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division.
The beams were acquired by the museum in 2012, and will be dedicated at a ceremony called "Heroes of 9/11" at 4:30 p.m.
"The beams are here to pay tribute to those individuals who lost their lives on 9/11; those civilians and those first responders. And it is also to pay tribute to those first responders who answered the call that day, the day after, the week after, and the months after," Salter said.
Everyone who attends the ceremony at Cantigny Park will get a blue ribbon with the message "We Remember 9/11," and will have a chance to tie the ribbon on the fence around the beams.
