Never forget
Traveling memorial wall was in Ocala for Patriot Day.
Bikers ride down the American flag lined driveway of Highland Memorial Park for a 9-11 Memorial Ceremony where the 9-11 Traveling Memorial Never Forget Wall was on display at Highland Memorial Park in Ocala, Fla. on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
The 9-11 Traveling Memorial Never Forget Wall was in Ocala on Sept. 6, serving as a poignant reminder of the travesties of Sept. 11, 2001.
Early in the morning on Sept. 6, a large number of motorcyclists stopped at War Horse Harley-Davidson north of Ocala to register for a patriotic “Ride to the Wall” together into Highland Memorial Park at 1515 NE 3rd St., Ocala, where the wall was erected.
According to the website of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, on Sept. 11, 2001, 19 terrorists who were members of al-Qaeda, an Islamist extremist network, hijacked four commercial airplanes.
“In a coordinated attack, the hijackers intentionally flew two of the planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and a third into the Pentagon. Learning about the other hijackings, passengers and crew members on the fourth plane launched a counterattack, spurring the hijacker pilot to crash the plane into a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed on that day, the single largest loss of life resulting from a foreign attack on American soil,” the site states.
Sept. 6 was deemed locally as Patriot Day, according to Tom Duffy with Veterans Helping Veterans USA/Ocala, which helped organize the traveling wall event.
Events at the memorial park included an opening ceremony honoring victims of the 9/11 attack, a guest speaker and more.
Thousands of American flags, each representing a person who lost his or her life on 9/11, were set up in the shape of the Twin Towers in a field at the park.
To learn more, go to patriotday.info and vhvusa.org
For information about the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, go to timeline.911memorial.org
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