Naperville brings people together to remember 9/11 - and those who died

Naperville's annual Sept. 11 remembrance will unfold Saturday in a timeline pegged to the collapse of the two World Trade Center towers.

At 9:04 a.m. and again at 9:27 a.m., three sets of three bell chimes will sound in the traditional firefighters' final alarm.

Each will be followed by a two-minute carillon bell toll as Naperville remembers the men, women, children and first responders who died in the terrorist attacks nine years ago.

"It is vitally important that as a community, we come together each year to remember the horrific attacks that occurred on American soil on Sept. 11, 2001," Naperville Mayor George Pradel said.

Chuck Wehrli, a retired Naperville Fire Department captain who spent 10 days at Ground Zero with the search and rescue teams, is the keynote speaker.

The two-hour ceremony begins at 8 a.m. at the Cmdr. Dan Shanower/Sept. 11 Memorial, located behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St. Shanower, a Naperville native, was a Navy intelligence officer who died when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon.

His parents, Pat and Don, three siblings and a nephew will attend the ceremony marking the ninth anniversary of the attacks.

The ceremony opens with the Naperville Municipal Band, which will play from 8 to 8:40 a.m.

This is Wehrli's first time speaking during the Sept. 11 ceremony, but he visits Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville every year to share his experiences with students. Today's high school freshmen were just kindergartners in 2001.

"The kids at school - probably half said they have never been to the memorial (in Naperville) and that's sad," he said.

"I'll do as many presentations as I can to make sure (the memory of what happened on Sept. 11) continues," he said.

Wehrli arrived in New York in the early morning hours of Sept. 12, 2001, as a safety officer for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Urban Search and Rescue task force, based in Missouri. The team did not find anyone alive but worked 12- to 18-hour shifts searching the rubble for bodies or remains.

The memorial event is sponsored by the Exchange Club of Naperville.

Nine years after the terrorist attacks claimed 2,977 lives, "it's a time to remember and pay honor and respect for those who lost their lives, and their family members," said Marty Walker, chairman of the Exchange Club's Americanism committee.

<p class="factboxheadblack">If you go</p>

<p class="News"><b>What:</b> Naperville Sept. 11 ceremony</p>

<p class="News"><b>When:</b> 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11</p>

<p class="News"><b>Where: </b>Cmdr. Dan Shanower/Sept. 11 Memorial, along the Riverwalk behind the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.; in case of rain, the event moves inside the municipal center</p>

<p class="News"><b>Info:</b> <a href="http://naperville.il.us" target="new">naperville.il.us</a> </p>