FAIRBORN — The City of Fairborn has vowed to “never forget” and is planning the 18th Annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony.
The event will include speakers, the presentation of colors, rifle salute, playing of Taps and more. It is slated for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 11 on the front lawn of the National Center for Medical Readiness, otherwise known as Calamityille, at 506 W. Xenia Dr.
The community is invited to attend.
“This ceremony is to honor the memory of those who perished the morning of September 11, 2001,” Fairborn Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Matt Owen said. “It is also to honor our first responders who put their lives on the line each day for all of us.”
Owen will emcee the event and will include a presentation of colors by the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Color Guard. The invocation will be led by American Legion Chaplin Kevin Knepp and Fairborn Mayor Paul Keller will provide welcoming comments.
“Attendees will experience a wonderful tribute that includes The Wright Patterson Air Force Base Color Guard the Fairborn VFW and American legion,” Owen said. “Each year the Fairborn Mayor makes an address and there is a keynote speaker. This year‘s keynote speaker is Col. Michael Phillips.”
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base 88th Air Base Wing Vice Commander Col. Michael E. Phillips will serve as the guest speaker. According to the Fairborn Area Chamber of Commerce, Phillips is a 1995 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Before serving as the vice commander of the 88th Air Base Wing, Phillips was the commander of the defense information systems agency in the United States Transportation Command Field Office of Scott Air Force Base, Ill., where he led a team of 30 individuals who facilitated and provided DISA services in support of the transportation enterprise.
The American Legion Dignam-Whitmore Post 526 is expected to honor fallen service members with the annual rifle salute and playing of Taps. Retired Sergeant Del Braund, of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, will conclude the event with the playing of bagpipes.
“This event is organized and hosted by several different entities including the city of Fairborn and the Fairborn Area Chamber of Commerce,” Owen said. “We invite the entire community to come to this event including Fairborn‘s first responders and Fairborn city schools. Fairborn has a wonderful 9/11 memorial.”
The City of Fairborn was a recipient in March 2011 of a piece of steel from one of the Twin Towers. It has since been implemented into a monument on the front lawn of the National Center for Medical Readiness. It’s purpose is to remind individuals of the fateful 2001 day and commemorate the death of nearly 3,000 individuals as a result of the terrorists attacks, according to the chamber of commerce.
A press release highlighting the event by the chamber said the monument is a connection to the fallen first responders, as well as those lost on the planes and in the towers and the men and women currently serving or those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
