Two area cities — Chesapeake and Newport News — will host Sept. 11 memorial services on Thursday in memory of the 2,977 lives lost 24 years ago.
One event — the Chesapeake 9/11 Ceremony of Remembrance — is taking place at the Chesapeake City Park, at 900 City Park Drive, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Military members will take part in the service, as will a joint public safety honor guard that will includes members of the the city’s police and fire departments and the sheriff’s office.
U.S. Navy Capt. Robert R. Littman, the executive officer at Naval Air Station Oceana, will deliver the keynote address. The national anthem will be performed by E. Justin Allen, a retired Air Force technical sergeant.
A piece of the fallen World Trade Center — a steel beam weighing more than five tons — is located within a wrought-iron fence at the city park that’s shaped like the Pentagon.
The Newport News event, the “Honor and Remember Ceremony,” will take place at 9 a.m. at the Gaines Theater on the campus of Christopher Newport University.
CNU’s president, William G. Kelly, will deliver the keynote address.
Members of the Newport News Police Department, Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office will also take part in the service. The Gaines Theater is located inside the Freeman Center on the school’s campus.
Peter Dujardin, 757-897-2062, pdujardin@dailypress.com
