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Land O' Lakes ceremony honors victims of 9/11 attacks

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Published  September 11, 2024 9:48pm EDT
Pasco County
FOX 13 News

Honoring the lives lost on 9/11

Briona Arradondo reports

LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - A powerful ceremony in Land O’ Lakes on Wednesday honored the lives lost during the 9/11 attacks, with thousands of placards placed in the ground in remembrance.

Volunteers placed 2,977 placards in the ground at Rosebud Continuum with names and a life story, like New York City firefighter Daniel O’Callaghan.

"He was at Ladder 4 in Manhattan, promoted to captain Sept. 10, oh my gosh. September 10, 2001," said Wayne Hunt, a retired Philadelphia firefighter who now lives in Land O’ Lakes. 

READ: Volunteers clean headstones at Bay Pines National Cemetery 23 years after 9/11

Hunt remembered attending O’Callaghan’s funeral even though he had never met him.

"About a month and a half later, I went up with a group from the union, and they had a funeral for a ladder captain at St. Patrick’s Cathedral," said Hunt. "They went through all the motions, but there was no coffin. Whew, and the crowd was unbelievable."

Hunt helped place printed biographies of the 9/11 attack victims on the back of red, white and blue placards in the shape of the U.S. flag. It's a project started by Kristy Verdi, the executive director of Learn and Serve Tampa, when she was a teacher. One of her former students came up with the idea, and the memorial project has been around since 2010.

"I think that memorials teach. They’re a place where kids can learn about the events, and then they start to ask questions about the why," said Verdi.

MORE: How 9/11 transformed air travel: TSA, security measures, and fees explained

The "why" came to a conclusion at nighttime as a few dozen people, young and old, gathered for a vigil just steps away from the display. The American Legion Post 108 in Land O’ Lakes hosted the event for the community.

"A lot of these kids that you’ve seen around here, they weren’t even born when this happened and a lot of them don’t even know what it means," said Don Hinst, the commander of American Legion Post 108 and chaplain for the 15th District of Florida.

Seeing the names and photos brings those events to life.

"It opens up opportunities for us to talk about democracy versus communism and to rekindle that spirit of Americanism," said Hinst.

The attendees want the lives lost, like Daniel O’Callaghan, to live on through this day of service and remembrance.

READ: Harris, Trump shake hands, stand together during 9/11 ceremony at Ground Zero

"I just hope that everybody keeps their memories alive over the years and never forgets," Hunt said.

This ceremony was a community effort with River Ridge High School’s ROTC also getting involved in the event.

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