LAKEVILLE — “There are certain moments in history where all Americans remember where they were,” said Brian Day, the Chair of the Lakeville Select Board. “Whether it’s 9/11, the Challenger explosion, the JFK assassination, or Pearl Harbor. We remember where we were and what we were doing.”

On Monday, Sept. 11, local politicians, first responders, and Lakeville residents gathered at the Lakeville fire station for the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York, Washington, D,C, and Shanksville, Pa. 

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on the day of attacks when two hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center, another struck the Pentagon and a plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers attempted to subdue the hijackers.

Sept. 11th “should be a reflective time,” Fire Chief Michael O’Brien said. People should “reflect back and ask themselves if they’ve made their little corner of the world better.”

In the middle of the ceremony, participants recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Then, four sets of five bells rang, which represented the 5-5-5-5 Morse code signal historically used to designate that a firefighter has died. 

State Sen. Michael Rodrigues and State Rep. Norman Orrall also spoke about the significance of the day. 

“These people who sacrificed everything for us, we’ve elevated them to hero status,” O’Brien said. “But I would submit to all of us present that we all have opportunities to be heroes… Let’s honor their sacrifice by being a little bit better, achieving what we’re capable of.’’