9/11 ceremony in Naperville honors hometown hero

CHICAGO - Ceremonies were held throughout Chicagoland on Wednesday to commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the September 11th attacks.

City leaders joined the Chicago Fire Department for a moment of silence at Engine 42 in River North. There, CFD Commissioner Annette Nance-Holt and Mayor Brandon Johnson thanked the men and women who work tirelessly to keep our city safe each day.

In Naperville, community members gathered Wednesday evening to honor the lives lost when terror struck, including a hometown hero.

On Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four jetliners—two of which crashed into the Twin Towers, one into the Pentagon, and a fourth that crash-landed in a Pennsylvania field after courageous passengers thwarted an attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks, including 343 first responders.

U.S. Naval Commander Dan Shanower, who hailed from Naperville, never made it home that day.

"It really hits home when you have this connection to the community," said Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli.

Shanower – a Naperville Central High School graduate – was working his post at the Pentagon when he was killed. He was 40 years old.

"Naperville is a very patriotic city and one that really takes pride in our heroes," said Michele Clemen, board member, Naperville Responds for Veterans.

In 2003, the ‘Commander Dan Shanower September 11 Memorial’ was completed – one of the first 9/11 memorials in the nation to be dedicated following the attacks. Inspired by Shanower, it also honors all the lives lost on that fateful day.

"A real place for reflection. Throughout the day, I’ve heard from so different many people about where they were and how their lives changed," said Wehrli.

Located between the DuPage River and the Naperville Municipal Building, the memorial incorporates a steel beam from the World Trade Center, fragments from the Pentagon, and granite from the Pennsylvania field where Flight 93 crashed.

It also features Shanower’s footprint and his own words penned in an article, "Freedom isn’t free."

Hosted by the nonprofit, Naperville Responds for Veterans, Shanower's loved ones laid a wreath in his memory on Wednesday evening.

Law enforcement officers on nearby rooftops were a reminder of how much 9/11 changed our world; at the same time, neighbors seated beside one another—also a reminder of how the actions of strangers working together changed it, too.  

"When I reflect on September 11th, I choose to focus on what happened next, what happened in the immediate aftermath of the attacks," said Naperville Police Chief Jason Arres. "We watched people run into danger to save others, we watched people with different backgrounds and different views work side by side, we watched this melting pot of a country unify against hatred, terrorism, and evil."

The memorial also features a 48-foot-long wall of faces, symbolizing every life lost on 9/11.