There was a somber tolling of the bell at Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Bremerton quarterdeck, September 11, 2025, in remembrance of those lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks 24 years ago.

The echoing sound throughout the morning observed moments of silence of fateful day when 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group Al Qaeda targeted the U.S. with a series of airline hijackings and suicide attacks.

The initial tolling of the bell by Chief Hospital Corpsman (Select) Miles Steele took place at 8:15 a.m., as Chief Hospital Corpsman (Select) Lee Halls recited, “On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group Al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed. This is to remember those who we have lost and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We will never forget,” said Chief Hospital Corpsman (Select) Lee Halls, who was preparing to head into Seattle that day with his father for a union welding job. “We ended up not driving in. After the first plane crash, the job site was closed. Large buildings in Seattle were evacuated.”


“I was in eighth grade social studies class, upstate New York on that day,” remembered Steele, a Clifton Park, New York native who joined the Navy during the subsequent Global War on Terror which followed the 9/11 attacks. “I wanted to contribute.”

At 8:46 a.m., the bells echoed again for five hijackers who crashed American Airlines Flight 11 into floors 93 through 99 of the World Trade Center (North Tower) at that time.

“The 76 passengers and 11 crew members on board and hundreds inside the building are killed instantly. The crash severed all three emergency stairwells and trapped hundreds of people above the 91st floor,” stated Chief Hospital Corpsman (Sel) Jessiechristian Alday who had just finished a college exam in the Philippines, came home and saw the events unfolding on the television. “We were shocked. It was so sad.”

At 9:03 a.m., five hijackers crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into floors 77 through 85 of the World Trade Center (South Tower), “killing the 51 passengers and nine crew members onboard the aircraft and an unknown number of people inside the building,” cited Alday.

At 9:37 a.m., five hijackers crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon. “The 53 passengers and six crew members on board were killed. The crash and ensuing fire also killed 125 military and civilian personnel on the ground,” remarked Chief Hospital Corpsman (Select) Robert O’Bryant, who was in first grade in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, when the teacher brought a TV into the classroom. “After the towers were hit, all our parents were contacted to come and pick us up. School closed for a week.”


At 9:59 a.m. after burning for 56 minutes, the World Trade Center South Tower collapsed in 10 seconds. “There were more than 800 civilians and first responders inside the building and the surrounding area killed as a result of the attack on the South Tower,” said Steele.

At 10:03 a.m., four hijackers crashed Flight 93 in a field near the town of Shanksville in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, after passengers and crew storm the cockpit. “The 33 passengers and seven crew members on board were killed. The crash site is approximately 20 minutes’ flying time from Washington, D.C.,” said Chief Logistics Specialist (Select) Steven Gardiner.

At 10:28 a.m. The North Tower collapsed after burning for [approximately] one hour and 42 minutes. “More than 1,600 people are killed as a result of the attack,” Steele said.

“Today marks 24 years since September 11, 2001, a day that forever changed our country and our lives. We pause to remember the 2,977 lives lost and the families who still carry that loss with them every day. We also salute the heroism of our first responders, and we remember the lives lost in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past two decades, Capt. Karla Lepore, Naval Hospital Bremerton director and NMRTC Bremerton commanding officer, shared with all hands, also noting that the day is more than paying tribute to those lost.

“It’s also about the spirit we discovered in the aftermath. Ordinary people, living ordinary lives, rose to extraordinary heights. They showed us courage, compassion, and unity in the face of unimaginable adversity,” continued Lepore. “That resilience—the ability to stand strong together—is something we carry forward. It’s in the way we serve. The way we care for others. The way we show up for each other here at [Naval Hospital] Bremerton, [Branch Health Clinic] Bangor, Branch Health and Education Center, [Branch Health Clinic] Everett and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard detachment every single day. As we take this moment of reflection, let’s recommit ourselves to living those values of courage, compassion, and unity. That’s how we honor their memory. We will never forget.”