In just a few days, the nation will mark the 15th anniversary of the September 11 attacks
Here in the metro, the public is invited to a special event to remember that day.
“I was watching the second plane crashed into the towers and still to do this day it's horrible and you'll never get rid of that image.”
The World Trade Center, the Pentagon, a full airplane into a field in Pennsylvania - those images have never left Bridget Fitzpatrick’s mind or heart.
“People go, 'I know right where I was. I know what I was doing. I know exactly what happened,'” she says as she recalls the events of that day.
Fitzpatrick has a special connection working for Omaha police as a social media coordinator and is involved with the First Responders Foundation.
As a foundation, their goals aim to honor and remember first responders.
“Basically the whole thing is [to] remember, reunite. We want people to never forget what happened on September 11,” she said.
Instead of a ceremony like the past three years at Memorial Park, the remembrance will move to a new location and feature live music, special tributes and a special VIP tent for first responders and their families.
With a new venue this year at Stinson Park, organizers are hoping to create a new tradition with the Minute of Silence - making it less of a phrase and more like a response.
“Part of the reason we started the Minute of Silence, we had seen a video in Warsaw, Poland," Fitzpatrick said.
On August 1, every year, sirens blare and people stop whatever they are doing to remember Poland’s rebellion against the Nazis.
Thousands lost their lives during the uprising in 1944.
In Omaha, the event hopes to create its own take
Sirens will come from an Omaha Fire truck with cameras on buildings and a drone to capture the moment.
Even if you cannot make it, the foundation has this request:
“Just wherever you are, just stop. Reflect," Fitzpatrick says. "It's one minute and so much happened in 2001 that we simply can't forget it. It's too important."
The foundation is also encouraging the public to use the hashtag #OmahaTogether on social media.
To learn more on the event, visit http://firstrespondersomaha.org.
