CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — Jon Alvarez, like many who lived through it, still remembers the day of September 11, 2001.
"I was sitting in the living room watching the news when the first tower got hit and when the first tower got hit I had a feeling that we were being attacked. and it just sent an eerie feeling down my spine, I mean it was really upsetting to see what was going on," said Alvarez.
A retired navy veteran, Alvarez was one of the dozens that attended the patriot day ceremony that honored and remembered the victims of 9/11.
The ceremony included a posting of the colors, a helicopter flyover, and a bell ceremony.
“Even though I’m retired, I put on the uniform and I come out and I do it out of respect of all the ones we’ve lost," said Alvarez.
Alvarez says it’s important to teach the next generation about 9/11 and how it changed life as we knew it then.
“I think it’s part of history and we should never forget how history or what history has come. you know, happened to us in the past, and we need to keep the kids’ knowledge on history," said Alvarez.
"Never forget those who sat in terror on the planes. For those who never saw it coming in the buildings or those who jumped instead of burning. For the firefighters who never stopped fighting, for the police officers who never stopped protecting, for the paramedics who never stopped giving aid, for the ordinary people who become extraordinary examples of courage.”