9/11 Remembrance Ceremony Planned In Temecula For 2025

TEMECULA, CA — The public is invited to a special evening of remembrance at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11 at the Temecula Duck Pond, to honor the lives lost and the heroes who served during the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

The ceremony will take place at the Temecula Duck Pond (28250 Ynez Road) for the 24th anniversary of that historic day, when so many lives were lost.

"This meaningful tribute will feature remarks from local dignitaries and first responders, along with a moment of silence for personal reflection,' according to a city spokesperson. "The evening offers our community a time to come together in unity, to remember the lives affected, and to recognize the strength and resilience that followed."

Temecula's current Mayor, Brenden Kalfus, said that he was a student attending the 5th grade at Hillcrest Academy in Temecula when the attacks happened.

"I remember the initial confusion and chaos, and then incredible stories of bravery," he said. " Now, as a father, a current firefighter, and Mayor, I feel the weight of that day more than ever. This event is about honoring the lives we lost and the unity that carried us forward.”

Light music and refreshments will be available after the program. Please note that seating and parking is limited.

The city of Temecula has honored the victims of 9/11 in various ways over the years, none as permanent as the Paseo Del Sol neighborhoods whose streets bear the names of California's victims from that day, 24 years ago.

Located in the southern part of Temecula, Paseo del Sol is a master-planned community that began construction in the early 1990s on approximately 820 acres. Around the time of the 1o-year anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, however, the city and some developers thought it fitting to pay tribute to the fallen by naming up-and-coming Paseo del Sol streets after victims who were killed.

The KB Homes Manzanita, Standard Pacific Reserve and Lennar Arroyo developments in Paseo del Sol, east of Meadows Park — which are bordered between Butterfield Stage Road and Meadows Parkway — have street names like Lyles Drive, Burnett Way, Beamer Court.

The designations pay tribute to CeeCee Ross Lyles, a 33-year-old flight attendant aboard United Flight 93; Thomas Edward Burnett Jr., 38, the vice-president and chief operating officer of a California-based medical devices company who was also on Flight 93; and 32-year-old Todd Morgan Beamer, one of the Flight 93 passengers who tried to regain control of the aircraft from hijackers.

More than a dozen other streets in the neighborhoods pay tribute to those on Flight 93, as well as others killed that fateful day. "In the Reserve at Paseo del Sol, built by Standard Pacific, Grandcolas Drive is named for passenger Lauren Grandcolas of San Rafael, Ca.; Glick Court is named after passenger Jeremy Glick of Hewlett. H.J.; Rivera Drive honors Waleska Martinez Rivera of New Jersey, NJ; Gronlund Court honors passenger Linda Gronlund of Warwick, N.J.; and other streets are named after Flight 93 passengers Richard Guadagno and Mark Rothenberg," according to911 Families.

United Flight 93 took off from Newark International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on Sept. 11, 2001. The scheduled departure from the gate was 8 a.m. with a scheduled arrival at San Francisco International Airport of 11:14 a.m. (local times). There were 44 people on board: two pilots, five flight attendants, 33 passengers and four hijackers.

During the September 11 attacks, 2,977 people died in total, not including the hijackers. Thousands of others were injured.

To see the names of those killed, visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum website.

For more information on this event and all upcoming Temecula Community Services Department events, activities and programs, please visit www.TemeculaCA.gov/TCSD.