“While the years go by since the attack, the memories of those who perished stay with us forever,” said IAA Executive Director Mario Rodriguez. “There is solace, however, in this annual tradition, where we unite and remember those who lost their lives and we honor the courageous first responders who willing sacrificed their own lives that day for their fellow Americans.”

The IAA has paused on this day each year since the attack to remember victims and first responders who lost their lives at the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and United Flight 93 over Pennsylvania.

“Sept. 11, 2001 was both a day of immense tragedy and a stunning display of courage and bravery,” said IAA Senior Director of Operations and Public Safety Keith Berlen. “The passengers of Flight 93 showed us amazing selflessness in their sacrifice to save so many, as did our first responders in New York who willingly rushed into harm’s way. It is these bold acts that demonstrate the spirit of the American people.”

As part of the Patriot’s Day ceremony, a 40-pound, 12” x 12” piece of the World Trade Center steel recovered from Ground Zero was on display.

In 2011, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey presented the recovered steel to local Indianapolis public safety responders and IAA employees who assisted at the attack site in 2001. The artifact remains on display permanently at the Indy airport’s fire station 1 throughout the year.

“It is a symbol of the iron resolve of our first responders who willingly rushed into the flames at Ground Zero,” said IAA Deputy Fire Chief Steve Summers. “We remember them on this day each year to ensure their legacy lives on.”