By Kristen Kauffman
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists coordinated attacks on civilians in the United States in three different locations–Pennsylvania, New York City and Washington D.C. The terrorists were members of al-Qaeda, motivated to (as they thought) force the U.S. out of the Middle East. More than 6,000 people were injured in the attacks, 265 people died in the planes (including some of the terrorists), 2,606 people died at the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area in Manhattan, and 125 people died at the Pentagon. As the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were involved in so much international business, these losses were felt by almost 90 countries, not just the United States, as was the terrorists’ intention. While all of the attacks were horrific, the most poignant images which persist are of one plane hitting one of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, shortly followed by another. Seeing the planes fly into the towers was so overwhelming that, for five years after the event, television networks restricted or banned the use of these traumatizing images.
The year 2026 serves as a remembrance, not only for the civilian lives who were lost but also in honor of the first responders from several agencies who served the public in a powerful way.
One way that our area honors the fallen is with the Healing Fields near the Prescott Valley Civic Center. Started in 2012 by Town Councilmember Mary Mallory, 1,200 flags flew on the field next to the Civic Center in honor of the fallen. However, the Healing Fields has now expanded to feature 2,977 flags in an acknowledgement of the increasing number of related fatalities: “An estimated 410,000 first responders, cleanup crews and survivors spent days and weeks breathing in air heavy with toxins from 400 tons of crushed concrete, glass, and asbestos at Ground Zero. Although 2,974 lost their lives on 9/11, as of April 2022, 4,343 survivors and first responders have died in the years since from 9/11 related illnesses, according to the World Trade Health Center Program.” Additionally, in 2013 the Fields included 19 flags for the Granite Mountain Hotshots. This annual remembrance has been so impactful in our community that it received the Prescott Valley Heritage Award at the 2025 Community Excellence Awards presented by the Prescott Valley Chamber of Commerce. This year, the flags will fly from Thursday, September 10th through Friday, September 18th.
Other lesser-known monuments in this area offering touchstones to the fallen are the monuments at two fire stations in the area. Williamson Valley Fire Department Station #91 has one of the I-beams from the World Trade Center in their parking lot, and some of the steel from the World Trade Center is incorporated into the monument at Mayer Fire Station #2, honoring not only Mayer’s firefighters but also the 343 firefighters who lost their lives at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the attacks. The donor of these relics of Ground Zero is Joseph Tufano, retired New York City rescue firefighter, who volunteered as a reserve firefighter for both Williamson Valley Fire Department and Mayer Fire Department. Now retired, he also served as a Yavapai County Sheriff's deputy.
Anyone looking to help in the aftermath of 9/11 can find ways to support the nearly 9,000 firefighters exposed to toxins now fighting digestive disorders, musculoskeletal disorders and cancers, such as prostrate, thyroid, blood and lung cancer. If you are looking to remember and honor this year’s 25th Anniversary, you don’t need to go to New York, Pennsylvania or Washington D.C.; instead, you can look in our own backyard for relics and remembrances.
“Days Past” is a collaborative project of the Sharlot Hall Museum and the Prescott Corral of Westerners International (www.prescottcorral.org). This and other Days Past articles are also available at www.archives.sharlothallmuseum.org/articles/days-past-articles/1. The public is encouraged to submit proposed articles and inquiries to dayspast@sharlothallmuseum.org Please contact SHM Research Center reference desk at 928-277-2003, or via email at archivesrequest@sharlothallmuseum.org for information or assistance with photo requests.