KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Almost 21 years ago, Scott Kamien said he stood at Ground Zero. Warped metal surrounded him and a cloud of soot spread from block to block, covering a mountain of concrete. He had just witnessed the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and he said the memory still lingers.
"Something that sticks in my mind is the smell. It lingered for so long, you know," he said. "I had never felt this way in my entire career — like you're looking back and saying, 'I hope I come home.'"
Kamien served with the New York Police Department for 23 years. He was a detective when the planes smashed into the World Trade Center and among the first responders sent to help. He said he spent weeks helping clear the rubble and searching for victims.
"There was this one firefighter that came out of the pile and he was in total shock and he looked at us and he said, 'I've lost everyone,'" he said. "He walked into the night and we never saw him again."
Sunday marks 21 years since the terrorist attacks in New York City that led to the deaths of thousands of people and left a dark legacy. On that day, people across the country swore to never forget the events of 9/11.
Almost 3,000 people died in the initial attack and thousands more lost their lives in the following years due to health conditions related to the attacks.
In Knoxville, city leaders are planning a ceremony Sunday to honor those who died and the ones who fell ill as a result of the attacks. At the same minute as when the plane crashed into the North Tower, they will hold a moment of silence before laying a wreath and flowers at the base of the 9/11 Memorial near the City County Building.
After the event, leaders will head to the Sunsphere at World's Fair Park. There, firefighters will be climbing the building as part of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's Memorial Stair Climb. The climb is meant to represent the steps firefighters took as they rushed into the towers rescuing people in the moments before the towers fell.
It pays tribute to the 343 firefighters who died at the World Trade Center 21 years ago.
Jack Lakin is also organizing a memorial ride with a local motorcycle club made of former law enforcement officers. The TN III Blue Knights make the journey every year. This year, it will benefit their COPSRUN and the Blount County Rescue Squad.
Hundreds of bikers are expected to take part in the ride. It starts at 10 a.m. and costs $20 per bike.
"They'll step up and say something for the ones who aren't here anymore," Lakin said. "We are Knoxville, Tennessee. We will always remember what happened to our brothers and sisters in New York."
On Aug. 1, more than two decades since the attacks, President Joe Biden announced that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Kabul. Al-Zawahri worked alongside Osama bin Laden to plot the 9/11 attacks.
He hailed it as delivering "justice" and said he hoped it brought "one more measure of closure" to the families of 9/11 victims. Some of those families said that while justice may have been delivered, the memory of 9/11 remained and so did grief for their loved ones.