NYC firefighter offers solemn reflection of 9/11 at Las Vegas ceremony
Twenty-one years removed from the horrors he witnessed at the World Trade Center, retired New York City Fire Department firefighter Frank Pizarro said the emotional toll he experiences each anniversary fluctuates.
“Some years are good; some years not so good,” the teary-eyed 55-year-old said at Sunday’s “Never Forget” ceremony at Clark County’s Government Center. “This year, not so good.”
After moving to Las Vegas in 2017, Pizarro founded Firefighter Memorial Transport, a nonprofit that helps the families of fallen first responders.
His solemn state on Sunday could be attributed to the increased funerals he attends because of his work with the nonprofit, he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“I reflect a lot more now,” he said. “And as you get further away from something you did your whole life, you remember more.”
That was the dominant theme of Sunday’s event: to “never forget” the 2,977 people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, including 343 firefighters, some of whom Pizarro knew well from academies and serving at several stations.
Attendees of the Clark County memorial, which began at 9:11 a.m., looked up at the clear sky to see a roaring flyover by fighter jets from Nellis Air Force Base.
They heard the sounds of bag pipes, and snaps and thumps from drums that accompanied a color guard, and sat quietly while a chaplain invoked a prayer and a bell was tolled 15 times.
Pizarro, elected officials and Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck gave speeches.
One after another stressed that Americans should also not forget the unity, resiliency and “neighbor helping neighbor” mentality born out of tragedy.
“I find it a shame that for this nation to get together, this kind of thing has to happen,” Pizarro said in his remarks.
Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick said “we’re better together,” while Commissioner Jim Gibson said “we will continue to be the kind of country we believe in.”
After the ceremony, attendees were welcomed to a free car show where complimentary hot dogs and hamburgers were served while a DJ spun upbeat songs.
Anita Perri and her brother, Charles, ages 70 and 73, showcased their 1964 Plymouth Belvedere and 1955 Chevy Bel Air cars.
Anita, who placed framed photos she took at the 9/11 memorial on the hoods of the classic vehicles, lamented that the younger generations might not understand the historic moment.
“Sometimes it’s things you have to live to understand,” she said.
Pizarro, who served two military tours during the Gulf War before becoming a firefighter, experienced the history firsthand.
He was at home when he heard his mother scream after seeing the first airplane hitting one of the towers broadcast on TV, and he saw the second jet hit shortly after.
He quickly rushed to his station, but his colleagues had already taken off with two engines. He and a couple dozen other off-duty firefighters boarded a box truck and headed out. It took them seven minutes to get to the scene, a trip that could sometimes normally take up to an hour.
The firefighters saw victims fall from the burning buildings and had to take shelter when the mammoth towers collapsed, one after the other. Pizarro said he worked for months on recovery efforts.
In retirement, he could not stay unoccupied for long, he said. That is why he started a charity that helps transport the remains of veterans and firefighters to memorial services in a retrofitted fire engine and Humvee. He also raises money for scholarships.
“I just want everybody to regroup and remember what made this country great, and where we’re the strongest,” he said. “But one thing about this country is that we’re bound together when something happens, we should take some of that into our daily lives on the daily basis.”
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres @reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.
