WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — On the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, Dino Ninotti of Wilkes-Barre ran miles around the city, holding a flag that bears the names of the thousands of victims. While he runs, he thinks about what happened on this day and what it means to him.
"It's the reason that I joined the military," explained Ninotti. "9/11 was my generation's Pearl Harbor. So I gave back so those 3,000 plus names on that flag is why I joined the military."
Ninotti served in the Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom. To this day, he says it's the victims of 9/11 who motivate him.
His run ended with a ceremony held at the Luzerne County Courthouse, at 8:46 a.m.
"The first plane hit the first tower in New York City (at 8:46)," said Luzerne County David Pedri during a speech. "Now is it time to remember. Now's the time to reflect. Now's the time to take in and understand what happened and seeing how far we've come, and how far we still have to go."
Romilda Crocamo was working in the Empire State Building at the time of the attacks. She told attendees she will never forget the actions she witnessed of the first responders in New York City.
"I will be in awe of their bravery until my last breath," described Crocamo. "I can't put into words what it was like watching the firefighters and the police and the EMTs and the bus drivers going down to the scene, knowing, not knowing what they were getting into but knowing that they were facing imminent death."
Not far from the courthouse, another ceremony was taking place at Wilkes-Barre Police Headquarters to commemorate 9/11, but also to honor current first responders who were given a donation from a Back the Blue yard sign fundraiser.
"We're here today to recognize the good work that Your Dash 365 and Amp'D and Donnie Douglas Evans is doing to help support the police officers. So I thank you for the donations," said Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown.
"Because of 9/11, today is a day we lost a lot of first responders in this country, and it's just nice to know that there's organizations out there that support the police and fire, and what we do every day. It just shows that the community supports us," said Wilkes-Barre Police Chief Joseph Coffay.