Las Positas College Marks 15th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks with Flagpole Dedication and Guest Speaker

From Las Positas College:

LIVERMORE, CA - Las Positas College (LPC) in Livermore is honored to observe the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks with two events that are free and open to the public. Both events are hosted by the LPC student veterans organization and will take place on Thursday, September 8, beginning at 10 a.m. with the dedication of a new flagpole east of the Veterans Resource Center on the LPC campus, followed by a moment of silence and then a few words from the guest speaker of the day, retired FDNY Lieutenant Joe Torrillo.

The flagpole dedication will be followed by an inspirational speech by Torrillo at 11 a.m. on the main stage of the LPC Mertes Center for the Arts. Torrillo was deployed to the rescue operation on September 11, 2001 after 19 al-Qaeda militants hijacked four airliners against United States targets, including the World Trade Center in New York. He was among the more than 400 police officers and firefighters involved in the recovery when the south tower fell at 9:59 a.m., burying him alive with a fractured skull, broken ribs, a broken arm, crushed spine, and heavy internal bleeding. Shortly after being found alive in the rubble, Torrillo was placed on a long spine board on the deck of a boat on the Hudson River for transport to a hospital. As emergency personnel were preparing him for the trip, the north tower fell and he was buried alive again.

Torrillo will describe his experiences in a speech entitled "Buried Alive with the Will to Survive: From Devastation to Inspiration," providing Tri-Valley residents and students with the rare opportunity to connect with a first responder who lived through the most deadly international terrorist attack in history.

There is a $2 college parking fee.

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