By Mary O’KEEFE

Last year, in 2024, after 10 years of hosting the Patriot Day Motorcade, organizers decided to end the event. 

The Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce, under the direction of Dwight Sityar, Jean Maluccio and Steve Pierce, founded the 9/11 Patriot Day Motorcade over 10 years ago. Community members and students across the valley gathered each year to see first responder vehicles, classic cars, muscle cars and hot rods drive past on Sept. 11 in recognition of Patriot Day. The purpose of the motorcade was to draw attention to first responders and add emphasis to the American mantra of “Never Forget.”

Responding to requests by many in the community, including emergency responders, asking organizers and co-founders Pierce and Sityar if they would bring back the motorcade the decision has been made to once again have the event. 

“Many of our first responders asked if we were planning to do a motorcade this year,” Pierce said. “That sparked our interest to bring it back.”

The event ended last year for many reasons including it hit its 10-year anniversary, which seemed like a good time to phase it out. Many of the Early Rodder classic and hot rod car owners were unavailable and the overall support of the event appeared to be waning. However, the adage of “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone” seemed in this case to be true. 

The motorcade drives past numerous schools. Students and staff will stand outside of the buildings on sidewalks, waving flags and signs thanking first responders including law enforcement, fire and search and rescue. Although this support is to honor and remember the terrorist attack of 9/11, the support for first responders is appreciated and, with the January fires of this year fresh in people’s minds, first responders are thankful for the recognition.

Patriot Day was designated on Dec. 18, 2001 as a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress. Americans are asked to honor those who lost their lives beginning at 8:46 a.m. EST. That was the time the first airplane struck the World Trade Center in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. 

“Nineteen terrorists from al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes, deliberately crashing two of the planes into the upper floors of the north and south towers of the World Trade Center complex and a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The Twin Towers ultimately collapsed because of the damage sustained from the impacts and the resulting fires. After learning about the other attacks, passengers on the fourth hijacked plane, Flight 93, fought back and the plane was crashed into an empty field in western Pennsylvania about 20 minutes by air from Washington, D.C. The attacks killed 2,977 people from 93 nations: 2,753 people were killed in New York; 184 people were killed at the Pentagon; and 40 people were killed on Flight 93,” according to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 

Among those victims were 343 New York City firefighters, 23 New York City police officers and 37 officers of the Port Authority. 

Those were the deaths that occurred the day of the attack; however, the fallout has continued for many, including early responders, some who survived that day and others who continued to help search and recover victims in the rubble of the Twin Towers. 

Thousands of first responders, construction workers and nearby residents were exposed to toxic dust containing asbestos, lead and jet fuel residue. This has led to health conditions including rare cancers and respiratory issues. 

“As of recent estimates, more than 4,000 people have died from 9/11-related illnesses – a number that continues to grow. The World Trade Center Health Program monitors over 111,000 individuals suffering from health issues linked to Ground Zero exposure,” according to the Fire and Safety Journal. 

“Experts predict that, eventually, the number of post-9/11 deaths will surpass the original death toll from the attacks themselves,” according to the Fire and Safety Journal.

As a veteran, Pierce is proud of the record of remembrance in the Crescenta Valley area, referencing both the motorcade and the Vietnam War Memorialin Montrose located at the corner of Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue. He added that the purpose and message of the motorcade is to “Remember-Honor-Respect” victims of  9/11, including the “first responders and the 3,000 lives lost. People can show their support by coming out on the sidewalk and waving as we pass by.”

“[The motorcade] is a tradition which needs to be passed down from generation to generation … never forgetting what happened on 9/11,” Pierce said. 

The motorcade will include first responder vehicles and 50 classic cars and hot rods. A map of the route is included at the bottom of this article. Traditionally the motorcade began at Ralphs Marketplace in La Crescenta; however, this year the motorcade will start at Bob Smith Toyota, 3333 Foothill Blvd. 

In the past the Patriot Day Motorcade would include an evening event that continued the theme of “Remember-Honor-Respect” with a ceremony when the victims of 9/11 were honored. Unfortunately organizers were not able to complete the plans for that ceremony this year but are working on the event for 2026.