Darien’s 9/11 ceremony, 24 years after the massacres on Sept. 11, 2001, included the National Anthem, red roses, American flags, a moment of silence and brief speeches reflecting on the heartbreak and heroism of that day and the years after.
The ceremony, at Darien’s 9/11 memorial behind Middlesex Middle School, brought together a crowd of over 100 people, including uniformed police officers and firefighters as well as some EMTs.
Running from about 8:25 to a little after 9 a.m., the event included with the times of day the two passenger jets had slammed into each of the World Trade Center towers — 8:46 and 9:03 a.m.
Perhaps 100 to 150 people attended the event.
“As years, now decades, go by, people forget — but those of us who witnessed this do not forget, and it’s our job to remember those we lost, and honor those who helped — firemen, poliemen, ER personnel, ambulance drivers and people who sowed up to do what they could — simple gestures to ease suffering in whatever way they could,” Monuments and Ceremonies Commission member Nanci Natale told the crowd.
The ceremony took place under a cloudless blue sky not quite as deeply blue as it was in Darien on the day of the attacks. First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky, one of the speakers, said that when he recently visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City, he learned that tiles commemorating each of the victims on that day were chosen in a shade of blue meant to call to mind the color of the sky on 9/11/01.
Photo from the Darien Monuments and Ceremonies Commission
Darien’s Sept. 11 memorial, behind Middlesex Middle School
“I want to take a moment for a special thank you to Josh Doying, the [then] teenager who conceived, funded and built the beautiful monument to 9/11 that stands behind me,” Natale said.
Attendees at the event were offered roses and American flags, and at the end of the ceremony, as in past years, they placed both symbols up against the memorial’s low granite stone.
Photo by Darienite.com
Placing the roses and flags
Contrasts — Some Devastating, Some Comforting
Other ironies and contrasts were also noted by the speakers.
• On Monday, Sept. 10, “we all woke to a sunny start to our week,” Natale said. “Then came Tuesday, and our world as we knew it changed forever. […] There was shock, disbelief, misery and a form of anger at those brazen acts.”
• “The story of 9/11 is two-sided: tragedy and resilience, pain and healing,
loss and recovery,” Zagrodzky said.” As the memory of that time fades, the park and museum exhibits do an excellent job of capturing the horror of those attacks. But
they also remind you of how the nation united to help those in need, and to
face the challenges that brought us to that point.”
• Ambulances arrived at the Twin Towers, but the vast majority of them left empty as there were almost no injured victims needing help, Natale said. “But people helped. Our first responders were the heroes of that day and long days after. Even the service dogs helped — collapsing exhausted wherever they could — little booties on their feet to protect them from the heat and debris.”
• At the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, “you come across those two
giant square pools, calm and serene like the rest of the park, but the site of
unimaginable death and destruction 24 years earlier,” Zagrodzky said.
Photo by Darienite.com
Seated and standing, uniformed and not, at 9/11 ceremony 2025
We Can Endure
Zagrodzky concluded his speech by saying:
“As you reflect on that day, whether you have vivid recollections of it or not,
take some time to remind yourself that whatever your troubles, you can
persevere.
“And if you see such troubles in others, reach out and lend a
hand. When we take care of ourselves, and do the same for those around
us, we can endure any difficulty. 9/11 showed us the way. Thank you.”