Remembering Together, 25 Years Later
Seven Oaks joins Bakersfield’s first responders and our military community for a day of solemn tribute.
In the memorial plaza at Bakersfield Fire Station 15 stands a piece of American history – steel recovered from one of the World Trade Center towers and transported across the country to its permanent home here in Seven Oaks.
It is more than a remnant of what was destroyed on September 11, 2001. It is a lasting reminder of the nearly 3,000 lives lost, the extraordinary courage displayed by first responders and ordinary citizens, and a promise our nation made in the difficult days that followed: We will never forget.
This September, 25 years after the attacks that changed our country forever, Bakersfield firefighters, neighbors and community leaders will gather once again at Station 15 to remember, reflect and honor.
For those old enough to remember that morning, the images and emotions remain remarkably clear. We remember where we were, whom we called, and the disbelief we felt as an ordinary Tuesday became one of the darkest days in American history.
For younger generations, however, and even for those who have since moved from other countries to the US and to Seven Oaks, September 11 may simply be history rather than memory – which makes ceremonies such as this one increasingly important.
If you would like to take part in honoring those lives that we continue to remember, you can attend one of two events on Friday, September 11.
The Morning Ceremony
This ceremony will start at 9:30 am and go until approx. 11:00 am to honor, remember, and represent the First Responders on September 11th.
Representatives from Bakersfield Fire & Police; Sheriff; KC Fire; CHP and Incident Management Team 3 … who responded to the Pentagon will be among the morning speakers.
The program consists of:
- Firefighters & Police Officers Seated
- Sounding of the Bell - First Plane
- Welcome
- Posting of the Colors
- BFD Honor Guard
- BPD Honor Guard
- “Amazing Grace”
- National Anthem
- Invocation
- Introduction
- Speakers
- God Bless America
Several potential flyovers are being coordinated by the military from Edwards Air Force Base as well as helicopters from the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol.
The Evening Ceremony
This ceremony will start at 7:30 pm
Bakersfield Fire Department passing the flag off to the Military.
Portrait of Warrior Gallery will be memorializing each of the 27 local Kern County soldiers that were called to duty and have since fallen, with a solemn Military Roll Call Ceremony.
Good to know details about the event:
- Buena Vista Rd, southbound from Stockdale to Ming Ave will be closed off to traffic and rerouted to the northbound lanes. Expect traffic delays all day long.
- Parking for the public is at the Park at Riverwalk. Shuttles will be provided to and from the station.
- This is a popular and highly attended event, and you should plan to be in your seats well before each program begins.
About the Memorial:
- The Memorial girder in the center of the courtyard was designed by the committee to represent all three tragedies that occurred on 9/11. The girder signifies the Twin Towers, the next level is the shape of the Pentagon, and the lower circle represents the Pennsylvania plane crash.
- The girder is also a sundial, and you will find brass medallions embedded in the cement, located behind the memorial. Each medallion has the flights and times each airplane crashed. During the day, the shadow from this girder passes over the medallions at the time of the day that indicates when each tragedy occurred.
- There is a “mini museum” honoring this date in history, located in the front lobby of Fire Station 15 that you can visit during the day. The Bakersfield Firefighters Historical Society worked together with the Kern Superintendent of Schools to develop this museum to be appropriate for all ages.
- Located on the outside wall of the adjacent Bakersfield Police Station is a massive wall “plaque” listing the individual names of every first responder lost that tragic day, honoring them and the departments in which they served.
Whether September 11 remains a vivid, personal memory or is a chapter of history you have come to know through others, we invite you to take time on this 25th anniversary to visit Station 15, attend one of these ceremonies and stand alongside your neighbors in remembrance.
Twenty-five years later, our promise remains unchanged: We will never forget.