Today is a day to Never Forget

Here in Grand Rapids and West Michigan, today is a day we should never forget! It is our Community Day of Remembrance and Scout Salute. It's a day to honor those who died during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In years past, and since 2002, the community has been invited to the Ford Presidential Museum for the tribute, which by the way, is the longest running September 11 tribute in the nation!

This year it will be a little bit different. The pandemic of COVID 19 has basically shut down public events for awhile, so all of the activities will be virtual, viewed either on the President Ford Foundation Facebook page, or the Ford Museum website.

The President Ford Field Service Council, Boy Scouts of America – with support from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation – will lead the West Michigan community in a day-long salute.

The remembrance activities will be open to the public on the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation’s Facebook page beginning at sunrise, 7:19 a.m. Individuals are asked to share photos of their virtual participation on the Facebook page.

To pay respect to all those who died during the terrorist attacks, honor guards from the Grand Rapids Police and Fire Departments will lower the flag outside of the Gerald R. Ford Public Museum at sunrise to commemorate the opening of the day’s events.

At the exact times that planes crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Penn., the Grand Rapids Fire Department will ring a bell honoring those who died.

At noon, retired Brigadier General and former Deputy Assistance Secretary for Homeland Security Michael C.H. McDaniel, himself an Eagle Scout and current WMU-Cooley Law School associate dean, will speak. At 6:45 p.m., the Boy Scouts of America will lead a short discussion on the day’s activities and a closing ceremony will take place at sunset, 7:59 p.m.