There are a number of special events planned around Ventura County in remembrance of those who perished in the terrorist attacts on 9/11/01 10 years ago. They are summarized below.
You cannot miss the annual display of 2,977 flags at Pepperdine University in honor of those who died in the attacks starting September 9th through the 19th. This is a touching tribute that you have to experience in person. You may also sirens and horns at this venue by local fire/emergency crews in support of the heroes of 9/11. You can't help but get emotional during this tribute.
For the 10th anniversary, Pepperdine hosted other events on 9/11, including a reading of the 2,977 victims' names from 11am-3pm, film screening of United 93 at 1pm and remembrance ceremony at 4pm.
The 4th Annual Ride to the Flags event started at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu in the morning and culminated in over 700 motorcycles riding to Pepperdine via Oxnard/Hidden Valley on 9/11.
Fire stations in Oxnard participated in the National Moment of Remembrance at 10am across the city.
10th Anniversary of 9/11 Memorial Ceremony at the Ventura Government Center at 11am will featured a ceremony, helicopter fly-over, bagpipes and musical tributes.
10th Anniversary of 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at Constitution Park in Camarillo started at 4pm with tributes, flag ceremony, moment of silence and patriotic music.
The 6th Annual Simi Valley Freedom Walk started at 4:30pm at Reagan Library and ended at Rancho Madera Community Park. Featured ceremony, fly-over, musical performances and 1.8 mile walk.
9/11 Twin Tower Survivor Judith Francis discussed "What Really Happened at the Twin Towers on Sept 11, 2001" on 9/11.
Cal Lutheran University presented two 9/11 Memorial Concerts in Thousand Oaks
By the Sea with the Buenaventura Art Association 9/11 Remembrance family arts and crafts event at Ventura Harbor Village
The life of Chad Keller, a Santa Barbara resident killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, was honored, along with a benefit performance of "I Was Greta Garbo" at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara.
Once again this year, Pepperdine University will honor the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks with nearly 3,000 flags. This stunning tribute will be located at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Malibu Canyon Road from September 9th through September 19th.
Pepperdine University is presenting a special 9/11 remembrance on Pepperdine's Malibu campus on Sunday, September 11, 2011 commemorating the 10th anniversary of the attacks on America. Amid a breathtaking display of 2,977 flags on the University's expansive lawn – honoring the victims and emergency responders who died on 9/11 – Pepperdine will present a reading of the victims' names beginning at 11:00 a.m. A total of 20 readers from service, charitable, religious, and professional organizations will join 15 individuals from the Pepperdine community in reading the names.
View of the flags at 6 p.m. on 9/10/11, the eve of the 10th Anniversary of 9/11:
At 4:00 p.m., Pepperdine will hold an hour-long memorial service commemorating the lives of our fallen heroes. The program will include remarks by Pepperdine President Andrew K. Benton, California Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, and Deena Burnett Bailey, whose husband, alumnus Thomas E. Burnett, Jr., was one of the heroes who perished on Flight 93 in Pennsylvania.
Ten years ago we were horrified by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We watched the scenes over and over. It was surreal. We were scared and concerned but felt helpless as we could do nothing about it from our TV screens. Most of us will never forget where we were and what we were doing that day. I’ll centainly never forget.
Of all places, I happened to be in Paris on an overseas MBA project with a classmate. We were in a taxi driving from our hotel to Orly Airport, where we were to fly to Nice. The attacks had already occurred yet Josh* and I had no idea, nor could we have ever imagined the extent of what had taken place.
* I just spoke with Josh today and coincidentally he wrote about our experience at www.unboxedthoughts.com/2011/09/09/ten-years-later/ (My account here was originally written 4 years ago but I've updated it for the 10th Anniversary remembrance of the attacks.)
Our taxi driver was Chinese and of course spoke French, but not English. The extent of our combined French vocabulary was oui, merci, bonjour and Hors D'oeuvres.
Halfway into the ride the driver turned up the radio volume very loud. Our first clue that something was wrong was repeatedly hearing the word “American” on the news. Our driver tried to communicate what he was hearing and our interpretation of his animated hand motions was that an airplane had crashed. We had absolutely no idea what really had just taken place in New York.
At Orly Airport, things went as planned. We checked in and were on the flight to Nice. The only thing we found slightly disturbing was the police patrolling the airport with large, machine gun like weapons. But we didn’t think too much of it at the time as we were both looking forward to visiting the South of France for the first time. The flight moved forward without a hitch.
We landed in Nice and at the baggage claim area our names we