MIRAMAR, Fla. – It was a moving scene in Miramar on Saturday as city officials and first responders unveiled plans for a new memorial dedicated to the victims of the attacks on September 11th, 2001.
The group gathered at Miramar Regional Park for the official dedication of the city’s new 9/11 memorial site.
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The event was held to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.
Once completed, the memorial will feature two steel beams, both of which were removed from the rubble at ground zero following the collapse of the twin towers.
The event also featured two survivors who were at ground zero when the attacks happened, including an NYPD police captain and a young woman who worked on the 100th floor of the World Trade Center and lost two friends when the towers collapsed.
“As I approached the Verrazano bridge, I saw the smoke coming from the towers direction,” said former NYPD Ofc. Mike Yepez, who is currently a captain with Miramar PD. “Shortly after passing the toll plaza, I looked to my left and I saw a plane, circling the towers, dipping down and striking the North tower. In that moment, my stomach dropped as I realized it wasn’t an accident.”
Added 9/11 survivor Yadira Santana-Dowling: “People told me, ‘You must have survived for a reason. And at 23, that’s heavy. You don’t know that reason. So what I have done is try to live a life to the best of my ability, that is worth a second chance.”
The event concluded with a special military flyover featuring two F-16′s from the 482nd Air Wing Air Reserve in Homestead.
Officials hope those steel beams, which were given to the City of Miramar by the New York Port Authority, will help keep the memory of 9/11 alive, and teach younger generations about the horrors of that day, for decades to come.