Wednesday, SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 |
Photo – 9/11 Ceremony flyer – Courtesy Rawlins Fire Department
Residents and local first responders will gather at the Carbon County Courthouse to remember the September 11th terrorist attacks.
This Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 2,977 innocent people at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Every year since then, Rawlins resident Tink Day has organized a memorial ceremony to remember the fallen.
This year is no exception. Day has arranged a tribute at the Carbon County Courthouse honoring those who lost their lives that day, as well as those who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others. The event will feature a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance and a live rendition of the National Anthem.
Day said it’s hard to believe the event happened 24 years ago, as the memory remains vivid in her mind. After nearly two and a half decades, the event organizer said she’s been asked if it’s time to move on. Day responded that Americans made a promise to never forget the events of that day, and she intends to honor it, adding that even those who didn’t experience the tragedy firsthand must understand its lasting significance.
While the magnitude of the attacks cannot be overstated, Day said the tragedy did have one positive effect: it brought the entire country together in a spirit of unity.
However, Day said that sense of shared resolve has steadily eroded over the past 24 years. She hopes Thursday’s remembrance ceremony, which will include a reciting of the Pledge of Allegiance, will help remind people what it means to be an American.
Day said the event also honors the bravery of local first responders. Just like the New York City firefighters and police on 9/11, they run toward danger when others are fleeing.
In 2021 and 2022, when September 11th fell on a weekend, Day organized a memorial stair climb at the Rawlins Outlaw Bowl. Participants completed 22 laps up and down the stadium steps, symbolizing the 110 floors first responders ascended at the Twin Towers. Day said she hopes to host a similar tribute in 2027 and is also planning a special event to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Tomorrow’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. on the south lawn of the Carbon County Courthouse, located at 415 West Pine Street, in Rawlins. For more information, call event organizer Tink Day at 321-4989.
