By Mikaela STONE

The 9/11 Patriot Day Motorcade commemorates the attacks of 2001 as it winds its way through the foothills area. 

It was 10 years ago that the CV Chamber of Commerce’s 9/11 Patriot Day Motorcade, composed of 30 cars and only two police escorts, rolled out for the first time. It wound its way through several neighborhood and seven schools, reminding community members to “Remember, honor, respect.” Now, 22 years after the events of 9/11/01, the question arises: What does remembering mean when a growing number of the population cannot remember what the world looked like before the attack?

For Dwight Sityar, motorcade coordinator, it means recognizing this part of history to help prepare for things to come.

The local community knows how prepared are its first responders to protect and serve after seeing how they responded to the 2017 Thomas Fire in Ventura County and the 2009 Station Fire, visible in the hills above La Crescenta. While America honors the sacrifices of the 403 first responders who died running into the burning Twin Towers and mourns the 2,200 citizens who perished with them, the motorcade honors those lost lives with one fire truck to represent them and one fire truck to represent Captain Tedmund Hall and Arnie Quinones. These two Los Angeles firefighters died protecting the Angeles National Forest during the Station Fire in 2009. On 9/11 they will be accompanied by between 10 and 12 motorcycle escorts from the Glendale Police Dept., three California Highway Patrol cars, appearances by the LA Sheriff’s deputies and the Montrose Search and Rescue team, as well as 50 classic cars, muscle cars and hotrod cars. This makes 80 cars in all visiting 14 different schools – as many as the event can have without holding up traffic!

Riding along will be dignitaries from across the area, such as Representative Judy Chu, Assemblymember Laura Friedman, and members of GUSD and the Glendale City Council, as well as rumors of possible attendance from State Senator Anthony Portantino and Supervisor Kathryn Barger or those who represent them.

However, this is not a day for politics and party divides, so banners and slogans will be left at home.

While the specialized cars are attention grabbing, Sityar reminds the community again this year that this event is “not a parade, just a motorcade.” It is his hope that the attention the cars draw will be linked to the motorcade’s “remember, honor, respect” creed, which calls on the community to “remember what happened, honor those who died, respect this day.” The motorcade will also, hopefully, encourage the teachers to discuss the events of 9/11 with their students: a heavy responsibility.

While the event may have happened before many of these students were born, the reverberations from America’s response is still being felt. While a student’s first response might be fear, the most important lesson of 9/11 is the importance of a loving community, no matter the background, race or religion.

In 2001, civilian volunteers in New York came in droves to bring first responders food and offer aid with cleaning up the rubble. The Red Cross reported thousands of new volunteers joining the organization, counting up to 57,000 Red Cross members in all committing their time to those in need in the aftermath. After the first plane’s attack, American airspace closed for the first time in history, forcing almost 7,000 people to land in Gander, Newfoundland: a tiny town with a population of fewer than 10,000. For reference, the U.S. Census Bureau considers a “small town” to have a 25,000 person minimum. The citizens of Gander housed, clothed and fed the grounded passengers and crew from around the world for the five days the airspace remained closed. It is a similar spirit that the La Crescenta community showcased during the Thomas Fire in 2017, bringing food, water and cool cloths to the battling firefighters – not to mention the spirit of the firefighters themselves.

For locals, this motorcade is unique in that it also honors Jean Maluccio, one of the organizers of this event and serial volunteer through the American Legion, Glendale Healthy Kids, the Verdugo Hills Hospital and many other organizations. Those participating in the motorcade will honor her afterwards with a barbecue and a toast from her son, Michael Maluccio.

The route of the motorcade is shown above.