News Release

Join Us for Our 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony

September 7, 2023

The Town of Hilton Head Island invites the community to its 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony to remember the 2,977 individuals who lost their lives during the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The event will be held:

Monday, September 11 at 8:30 am
Veteran’s Memorial Park 
59 Shelter Cove Lane
Hilton Head Island

This special service, coordinated by the Town’s Fire Rescue Department, will also pay tribute to the bravery of first responders, the resilience of survivors, and the strength of communities coming together in the face of adversity. The ceremony will feature Fire Chief Chris Blankenship and Battalion Chief Colin Fanning from the Town’s Fire Rescue Department, as well as distinguished guest speaker, Michael Sturgis, a retired New York City Fire Department Battalion Chief.

Sturgis, who was on duty in New York City during the 9/11 attacks, will share his deeply personal and compelling account as a veteran career firefighter who grappled with the profound loss of friends, family, and loved ones. Throughout the ceremony, there will be solemn tolling of the bell followed by brief periods of silence. These moments will coincide with the times of the tragic terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, and aboard Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania:

• 8:46 am (Flight 11) 
• 9:03 am (Flight 175)
• 9:37 am (Flight 77)
• 10:03 am (Flight 93)

Your presence and support would be greatly appreciated as we come together to remember and reflect on this significant moment in the country’s history. For more details about our remembrance ceremony, please visit hiltonheadislandsc.gov.