Downtown ceremony pays tribute to victims, survivors

It was the day that shook the nation’s sense of security, a day that forever changed the way citizens live, work and play, said Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha.

“On this 10th anniversary, this is a time to remember not just those who died but also the survivors and the families of 9/11,” Kealoha said at a downtown commemoration Friday to honor victims killed in the terrorist attacks a decade ago.

Kealoha was among the guests at the remembrance ceremony Friday at Tamarind Square to pay tribute to the nearly 3,000 victims. More than 200 people attended, including dozens of Honolulu police and firefighters.

A men’s a cappella choir sang “God Bless America,” the melodic voices carrying through the square amid the sounds of cars and delivery trucks traveling on Bishop Street. A lone sailor played taps while attendees took a moment of silence.

Kealoha said, “Today, we honor the lives lost 10 years ago, and we pay tribute to the heroes of 9/11, those firefighters, police officers and paramedics thousands of miles away that remain today our heroes. For it is not how they died that made them heroes, but how they lived,” he said.

Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth Silva said, “I hope that we always remember the sacrifices that were made on Sept. 11, 2001, and the sacrifices that are being made every day to keep our country safe.”

Edward Tsang, who passed out American flags to attendees, recalled his phone ringing in the early morning hours of Sept. 11, 2001, with friends calling from New York about the horror of the attacks.

Tsang, project manager of eWorld Enterprise Solutions Inc., remembered how his nephew, an information technology consultant, had grabbed some equipment from his office in the trade center a few days before the attack to prepare for a business trip. “Had he not been on that trip, he would’ve been part of that,” said Tsang as his voice drifted.

During a visit to Ground Zero in December 2001, Tsang, a native of Brooklyn who moved to Hawaii in 2000, recalled how eerily quiet the site was in contrast to the usual honking horns, vehicle noises and people talking.

Since the tragic event, Tsang has joined others every September at Tamarind Square to pay tribute to those killed.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie told attendees how the meaning of the aloha spirit is even more important today as the nation had much time to reflect on the gulf of misunderstanding, misperception and the divisions in the world that can lead to violence.

“The best way we can remember the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and honor those who serve as first responders, the best way we can remember those who are victimized by hatred and cruelty today is to refocus our attention on what the aloha spirit is all about: our sense of our brotherhood and sisterhood here in Hawaii and do whatever we can to live that message and carry it to all the world,” said Abercrombie.