TSA agents observe a moment of silence at 6:46a.m. Wednesday, September 11, 2019. That is 18 years to the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Photo: Kelli Pierce
SALT LAKE CITY – TSA agents at Salt Lake City International Airport paused, stopping their work at 6:46 a.m. Mountain Time on September 11, 2019.
That marked the moment 18 years ago when the first plane hit the World Trade Center.
A few minutes later, a ceremony featuring bagpipes and the Marine Corps Color Guard was held at Terminal 3 to remember the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Dan Newsome was one of the dozens of people who were at Terminal 3 today. He was home in New Jersey when he got a phone call all those years ago.
“I got a phone call from my wife [who] worked for the state government, and they locked them down. And I knew something was wrong before the media even announced that,” Newsome said.
Angel Medina has organized the ceremony at the airport for the last five years. He says there are lots of reasons people in Salt Lake City remember that day.
“Maybe some of us have served in [the Armed Forces]. And it’s important that the workforce…understand that we are taking the time to reflect on what happened,” Medina says.
The events at the airport are not the only ways Utahns are marking 9-11.
Governor Gary Herbert has ordered all flags on government buildings to be flown at half-staff.
The Kaysville, Layton, and Hill Air Force Base Fire departments held their annual 9-11 Memorial Ruck, a race to honor the first responders who gave their lives.
Sandy city has placed almost 3,000 flags on the Utah Healing Field to honor each of the victims of the terrorist attack ahead of a larger ceremony at 7:00 tonight.