“Last year was our first attempt at a Sept. 11 ceremony, and we've had a lot of help from local resident Mike Tarpley this year,” said Bias. “I think it's important to remember what happened that day. It changed everyone's lives, and we need to recognize the local heroes.

“Dr. Darryl Powell, a retired brigadier general, will be our speaker, and we'll also have presentations from the Big Spring Police Department and the Big Spring Fire Department. We're proud to be able to do this again. It's important to thank the people that work so hard to keep us safe.”

Bias said the ceremony will be held at the Big Spring Mall, near the entrance to Sears, at 6 p.m.

“It will be about 45 minutes long and we'll end it with a draping ceremony,” said Bias. “We'll honor the men and women that have given their lives for their country, as well as their families.”

The September 11 attacks — often referred to as 9/11 — were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by terrorist group al-Qaeda upon the United States. On that morning, terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing everyone on board and many others working in the building, causing both buildings to collapse within two hours, destroying at least two nearby buildings and damaging others.

The hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Somerset County, Pa., after passengers and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft attempted to retake control of their plane, which was heading for Washington, D.C. There are no known survivors from any of the flights.

Excluding the 19 hijackers, an estimated 2,974 people died in the attacks. Another 24 are missing and presumed dead. The overwhelming majority of casualties were civilians, including nationals of over 90 different countries.

For more information on the ceremony, contact the Hangar 25 Air Museum at 264-1999.

Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it