Paying tribute to those who paid the ultimate price: San Ramon Valley’s 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
San Ramon Valley’s 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony wreathe, made up of red, white and blue flowers.
Girl Scouts pet a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder therapy dog during intermission.
Two veterans, old friends, reunite at the ceremony, catching up and cracking jokes.
Boy Scout hoists American flag, waiting for the flag guard portion of the ceremony.
Boy Scouts joke around as they prepare for the ceremony to start.
Karen Stepper, former president of the San Ramon Valley Exchange Club, presents the ceremony’s opening remarks.
Audience members applaud first-responders and veterans.
San Ramon Valley Fire Department Chief Paige Meyer takes to the podium to share words of encouragement, hope and resilience.
Mike Conklin, the father of three Army Rangers, stands and waves as he recognized and honored for his work as the chairman and CEO of the Sentinels of Freedom, a nonprofit organization that serves veterans who have been severely wounded and injured in service, post-9/11.
Veterans stand up as they are honored for their service at the event.
The keynote speaker for the event was Derek McGinnis, a Marine Medical Corpsman and Sentinel of Freedom graduate. During his service in Iraq, he sustained a traumatic brain injury, extensive shrapnel wounds, damage to his eye and amputation of his left leg above the knee, all of which resulted from the time a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into McGinnis’s Humvee ambulance.
Yellow roses, symbolizing appreciation and friendship, were presented to Gold Star Families, families who have lost loved ones in military service, at the ceremony.
A San Ramon Valley Fire Department Guard of Honor, two Pearl Harbor survivors and a San Ramon Valley police officer (from left to right) salute the All Wars Memorial at the All Wars Memorial Park during the raising of the flag. The flag-raising was the last event of San Ramon Valley’s 12th 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony.
Attendees of the ceremony write messages of appreciation for first-responders and veterans on colorful posters.
To start off the 12th annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony hosted by the San Ramon Valley Exchange Club, emcee and former Club president Karen Stepper, told the audience, “Every year I get asked, believe it or not, why are here each year, why are we still doing this?”
She paused.
“Because it means so much to our country that we do.”
The event was held at Oak Hill Park to honor the first responders — firefighters, police, and veterans — to the attack, 16 years ago on New York and gold star families.
It featured a joint Police and Fire Department Honor Guard, local Boy and Girl Scouts with dozens of American Flags and the Monte Vista High School Choir.
As rain fell down and emotions ran high, speakers, including San Ramon Valley Fire Department Chief Paige Meyer, Danville Police Chief Allen Shields and San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson, took to the podium to share words of encouragement, hope, resilience.
“I think we can lose track of where we’re going if we don’t look back at where we’ve been,” Shields said.
“On that day, 16 years ago, our nation saw evil. The very worst of human nature. And we responded with the very best of America,” Danville Mayor Renee Morgan said.
The keynote speaker for the event was Derek McGinnis, a Marine Medical Corpsman and Sentinel of Freedom graduate. During his service in Iraq, he sustained a traumatic brain injury, extensive shrapnel wounds, damage to his eye and amputation of his left leg above the knee, all of which resulted from the time a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into McGinnis’s Humvee ambulance.
Nevertheless, he continues to persist and resist, having competed in numerous triathlon and running races and authoring the book “Exit Wounds” in hopes to help other returning soldiers overcome the chronic pain that never disappears.
“I came in here early today, I had the privilege of parking here in this parking lot. And I saw and listened to the sounds of freedom… As I look out here in this audience, I see defiance. Honoring our loss and not letting the terrorists change our ways of life. They will not win,” McGinnis said.
“For the 1 percent out there who are putting it all on the line today, I’m sorry I didn’t finish the mission with you. But I’ll tell you what, I believe in you. And I know you will succeed…
I will not forget.”
Amanda joined the Tribune in her sophomore year as an aspiring journalist and avid storyteller. In her sophomore year, Amanda was a Student Life Editor and was promoted to Managing Editor with Armaan Rashid...
