2,983 Flags Honor Those Lost on 9/11

BELLE FOURCHE—On the morning of September 11, 2001, the world changed forever as the first of four coordinated terrorist attacks struck the World Trade Center in New York City. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the attacks.

The Center of the Nation 9/11 Remembrance organization will host two days of activities Sept. 11–12 to honor those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and remember those whose lives were forever affected by the tragedy. Their hope is to carry forward the spirit of unity and service that followed 9/11.

The program has evolved from the Remembrance Walk that was started by the Belle Fourche Volunteer Fire Department to honor first responders and others lost in the attacks. “The Belle Fourche Volunteer Fire Department started it with the Remembrance Walk. They’ve done it annually for several years and we’ve participated in that with them for the last few years,” explained Alicia Giaculli, organizer. “We asked them if they would be okay with us helping make it a little bit bigger and something more than the walk and they were all right with us doing that.”

Honoring those affected by the attacks and helping foster the unity our country found afterward is important to Alicia and Joe Giaculli. Joe was a first responder on the scene of the horrific attacks. “My husband is a first responder. He was a first responder in the World Trade Center and worked there afterwards as a recovery worker—he worked in recovery for about 13 months afterwards,” shared Alicia.

There is a full slate of Remembrance activities planned for Friday, September 11, and Saturday, September 12. The opening ceremony begins at 8 a.m. September 11 in Herrmann Park. Jim Thompson will serve as the MC for the event.

Several guest speakers are scheduled for the occasion. “We’re going to have several speakers from the community. Senator Rounds will be there speaking… Kayla Grams will be speaking. It will be a whole hour of speakers and ceremony. The color guard will be there to present colors,” explained Alicia.

Moments of silence are planned to remember and honor each of the four attacks. At 8:46 a.m. Flight 11 hit the North Tower; at 9:03 a.m. Flight 175 hit the South Tower; at 9:37 a.m. Flight 77 hit the Pentagon; and at 10:03 a.m. Flight 93 went down in Pennsylvania. “The moment of silence is at 8:46—that’s the time of the first attack on the North Tower. So when the plane hits the North Tower we’re going to do that moment of silence as a group, and then after that we will have moments of silence for each time point throughout the day,” shared Alicia. “The bells will be tolling—the church is going to toll bells before the moments of silence, and they will do that so the public can participate in moment of silence on their own…but we’ll do the first one together as a group.”

In the shelter area in Herrmann Park, there will be a display for visitors to peruse. “At that picnic shelter across the street from Bowman Hall there’ll be information. We have some newspapers—New York Post and the Daily Post from September 12th through the 22nd—my husband has had those. We’ll have those on display. We’ll have some other educational information and timelines of each time point… on September 11th. People can walk through and read about what happened on that day,” said Alicia.

There will also be a Remembrance Wall for people to share their thoughts and read about others.

“That’s going to be a space where people can write their thoughts, feelings, memories, whatever it is that they that they want—words to families, to survivors, words to current first responders, if that’s what they want to do. Just a space for community to write their thoughts,” said Alicia. “We’ve been referring to it as a tunnel—the timeline is on one side after you get the picnic shelter, and the Remembrance Wall on the other—as you walk through it you come out the end and you’ll see the flags.”

The informational area will lead out to the 9/11 Memorial Flag Tribute, a visual reminder of the loss that our country suffered that day. “There are 2,983 flags—we’re matching the 9/11 Memorial and Museum’s database. That includes the February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center… and the six victims from that,” explained Alicia. “It’s going to be very impactful, and that’s what we’re going for because we have a whole generation of people that were not here during September 11th, and it’s a very meaningful way to show how much it impacted not only the families but also our country.”

Each flag will include a personalized tag with the victim’s name and story, reminding visitors that these were not simply numbers, but people with lives, families and stories.

Then later in the day, beginning at 6 p.m. in Herrmann Park, the Remembrance Walk will take place. The public is invited to walk in honor of the lives lost that day as well as the first responders who were on the scene to rescue victims. The walk length has specific significance to the rescue workers. “We do a mile, approximately 2,200 steps is 110 stories—which is what the World Trade Center was… that’s what the meaning behind that number is,” shared Alicia. “We’ll walk as a group to honor everybody that was in the September 11 attacks. It is about a mile walk. So that is about four laps around Herrmann Park. The flags will be in the middle, and then just spend time together as a community.”

The public is invited to walk one mile in honor of one tower or two miles in honor of both towers. Crazee Cow Ice Cream and Rolling in the Hills food truck will both be in the park on Friday evening.

The 9/11 Memorial Flag Tribute will remain on display in Herrmann Park on Saturday, September 12. In Bowman Hall, the 9/11 Never Forget Blood Drive will be taking place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Spots are still available and walk-ins are welcome to donate blood. “We’re honoring and remembering not only the people that we lost and the people that are still affected, but we also want to focus on the growth that we saw after September 11th and the service that we saw afterwards. The blood drive is kind of touching on that service,” explained Alicia. “That unity after September 11th is what we’re wanting to bring back. We can give back to our community by giving blood.”

The Center of the Nation 9/11 Remembrance Weekend display will be set up from September 11–12. The public is invited to explore the display at any time during the two-day event, even if they cannot attend one of the scheduled activities.

T-shirts to commemorate the Center of the Nation 9/11 Remembrance Weekend are available for purchase. Proceeds after expenses will help cover the cost of the flags. “We’ll be doing this annually. Every year is our plan—just have it be a community tradition every year to be able to have these flags set up and do it together as a community,” said Alicia.

The Center of the Nation 9/11 Remembrance Weekend brings our community together to honor those lost, remember all those affected by September 11, 2001, and carry forward the spirit of service that emerged from tragedy.

Friday, September 11, 2026:

8 a.m. Opening Ceremony

8 a.m.-8 p.m. 9/11 Flag Tribute

6 p.m. Remembrance Walk

Saturday, September 12, 2026:

8 a.m.-8 p.m. 9/11 Flag Tribute

9 a.m.-4 p.m. 9/11 Never Forget Blood Drive

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