Today in Wheaton: 9/11 Anniversary, Heat Continues

At 8:55 a.m. today, firefighters will be joined by residents and local dignitaries around the flagpoles in from of Wheaton Fire Station 1, 1 Fapp Circle, as it hosts a Sept. 11 Ceremony.

Today is the 12th anniversary of the day 19 terrorists hijacked four passenger jets and used three of them as missiles to attack the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington. Passengers in the fourth jet fought back against the hijackers, who then crashed the aircraft into a field near Shanksville, Pa.

By day’s end, nearly 2,996 people were dead — 343 of them firefighters and paramedics with the Fire Department of New York. The attacks shoot the nation to its knees but ignited a U.S. “war on terror” in Afghanistan and then Iraq, that eventually decimated the leadership of the terrorist group al-Qaeda, eventually claiming the life of its leader, Osama bin Laden, as well.

Forecast

AccuWeather predicts an early shower or a thunderstorm heading into another hot day, although with a high of 88 and a heat index of 92, not quite as hot as the previous two.

A shower or thunderstorm appears to be the order of the day, and the evening will bring a chance for a thunderstorm as well, AccuWeather predicts.

Also on the Agenda

• 2 p.m. — Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans to dedicate new commissary: Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans will dedicate its new Army Capt. Kevin C. Landeck Freedom Commissary, 400 W. Liberty Drive.