There was, from the very beginning of the nightmare, the matter of the distance.

Antoinette Papa awoke in Honolulu hours after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 rocked New York and Washington, D.C. A native New Yorker, Papa had moved to Hawaii exactly 15 years earlier — Sept. 11, 1986 — and had become accustomed to being among the last to learn of breaking news on the continent.

The horror, as it came through the radio that morning, was thus delayed but hardly blunted. In the terrible, confusing hours that would ensue, Papa would learn that her cousin, Susan Dietrich, who worked at the World Trade Center, had died.

“I called around frantically trying to find out what was happening,” Papa recalled. “At first it came out that (Dietrich) was all right. But later … ”

On Sunday, Papa joined hundreds of others, including representatives from the Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services, Department of Emergency Management, the U.S. armed forces, local and national airlines and the general public for the 11th annual Mayor’s Remembrance Walk honoring victims of 9/11.

The event opened with a brief ceremony at HPD headquarters on Beretania Street, proceeded for another ceremony at HFD headquarters on South Street and culminated with a formal program at Honolulu Hale.

Papa, who participates in the march every year, was adorned simply but strikingly in a New York-themed shirt and jeans.

“The distance is always there,” she said. “The attacks affected everyone, but sometimes being here feels like being in a different world.”

The Mayor’s Remembrance Walk grew out of a national movement to establish local “freedom” marches in every state to memorialize 9/11 victims. More than a decade later, some events have drawn criticism for drifting away from a focus on the attacks and their aftermath and toward other politicized ends. Others, like the one in Honolulu, have evolved into both a remembrance of 9/11 and a celebration of first responders in the community.

In her own small way, Papa said her continuing participation serves to make sure that the real message of the day isn’t lost.

“I don’t want anyone to forget,” she said. “That’s why I come.”

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell helped to close the distance with an emotional speech in which he recalled his recent trip to New York to witness the arrival of the Hawaiian voyaging canoe Hokule‘a and a visit to the National September 11 Memorial &Museum.

Caldwell recalled seeing photos of young firefighters rushing into the towers, their eyes showing both bravery and fear, as well as a display of clothes belonging to a young girl who died while traveling with her family on American Airlines Flight 77.

“Fifteen years later the 9/11 story continues to be told,” Caldwell said. “Fifteen years later, we still feel the pain and sadness. Fifteen years later, we still face a horrific adversary. Fifteen years later, we fight to remain a civil society.”

Caldwell also praised first responders who work to keep their communities safe.

Jonny Bitanga, 50, of Kailua, took part in the march both to remember the victims of 9/11 and to thank local first responders.

“Their service often goes unrecognized but they do so much good for the community,” he said. “It’s their lifestyle, even when they’re off the clock. We’re blessed to be served by such brave men and women.”