Local Officials Prepare for Sept. 11 [VIDEO]

As they’ve done every Sept. 11 since 2001, Peabody city officials and public safety officers will gather again this Sunday to pay special tribute to those who died in the terrorist attacks 10 years ago. The death toll included three Peabody victims: N. Janis Lasden, Donald DiTullio and Christine Barbuto.

While an entire decade has now passed and Americans have seen some milestones in the War on Terror, perhaps most symbolically the earlier this year, much remains the same as long as American troops are deployed overseas continuing the fight.

“I don’t think you can ever have any closure,” said Mayor Michael Bonfanti in a past interview. “We’re ever reminded that we have to be vigilant…always be prepared.”

“If people haven’t figured it out yet, there are bad guys out there,” he said.

Peabody police officer Joseph Coup, an Iraq War veteran, said that the public is aware in a post-9/11 world of many more places and names they never heard of before. He said the fight goes on with tactics and names changing all the time; it’s a tough call to say the United States is ultimately safer than it was 10 years ago.

And for the families that remain, so does the loss and grief.

Linda Leblanc, sister to Lasden who died aboard American Airlines Flight 11, told Peabody Patch earlier this year that her grief and mourning for her sister lasted for years and she has since learned to live with the sorrow that she will never see her sister alive again. That particular occasion was .

“So what. It means nothing to me,” said Leblanc. “I’ll never have closure.”

She said she couldn’t understand why so many people were , acting as if the War on Terror was over.

“There’s a lot more of them out there,” she said. “All it’s doing is bringing back that original day.”

Leblanc was not available for an interview leading up to the 10th anniversary of that day, but perhaps celebrating her sister’s memory one more time tomorrow, along with those others who died on Sept. 11, will bring some solace to the family.

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The city will hold three services Sunday to honor the victims and public safety officers who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001. The public is invited to attend.

The first ceremony will be held at 8 a.m. at the 9/11 Memorial Park, located at the corner of Grandview Avenue and Fitz Road, which is also just two doors down from where Lasden and DiTullio lived.

At 8:30 a.m., a parade led by the will march off from Constitution Park at the corner of Foster and Main streets all the way over to the police station on Allen’s Lane. At approximately 9:40 a.m., a brief ceremony will be held to remember the fallen heroes.

The third and final ceremony will be held at on Lowell Street at 9:50 a.m., where the Peabody Fire Department will once again remember the fallen heroes.

The police station will then be open from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. for an for the public.