West Linn, Oregon City to ‘honor those who serve’ on Sept. 11

Elected officials and first responders from West Linn and Oregon City will gather for a brief ceremony on the Arch Bridge between the two cities Wednesday Sept. 11, to honor those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon 23 years ago.

Similar to last year’s event, the ceremony will see Oregon City Mayor Denyse McGriff and West Linn Mayor Rory Bialostosky toss a wreath of flowers off the bridge into the Willamette River. Members of the public are invited to toss flowers into the river as well.

Organizer Dean Suhr said the ceremony will be brief, as the Oregon Department of Transportation allows the bridge to close for just five minutes for the event.

Officers and firefighters from the West Linn and Oregon City Police Departments, Clackamas Fire and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue will make up an “honor line.”

West Linn and Oregon City first held a joint ceremony on the Arch Bridge in 2002 to mark the first anniversary of the attacks.

When there was no ceremony held by the cities in 2005, Suhr started organizing one of his own for the following year, inviting local officials and first responders to honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the 2001 attacks. Suhr has held a ceremony to honor them and the first responders who continue to put their lives on the line for others every day each year since then.