KANNAPOLIS — In recognition of the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, Kannapolis Fire Chief Tracy Winecoff and Police Chief Terry Spry joined Mayor Darrell Hinnant as he read the city’s proclamation.

“It seemed only right that these two men, representing their departments and all the people who do what the first responders did on Sept. 11, should be here,” Hinnant said.

The proclamation notes that “events of Sept. 11, 2001 irrevocably changed the lives of victims’ families and friends, survivors, first responders, rescue and recovery workers, volunteers, and millions of Americans and people around the world.” It went on to say that the country had made “an unbreakable promise never to forget the nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who were senselessly killed.”

Hinnant wrote that the memory of seeing the American flag being raised above the ash and rubble at Ground Zero and then at the Pentagon was a reminder that “good triumphs over evil.” Sept. 11, 2024, proclaimed a National Day of Recognition and Remembrance, is a day to remember those lost and to continue to honor those who “continue to risk their lives in defense of the matchless blessings of freedom.”

“I call upon the citizens to participate in community service in honor of those our nation lost, to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities, including remembrance services, and to observe a moment of silence beginning at 8:46 a.m. to honor the innocent victims who perished because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001,” Hinnant said.