Employees of the TVA Kingston Fossil Plant honored the lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001 with several people gathering at the plant's 9/11 memorial to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
"We've lost so many people. We continue to lose so many people. The reasons that we can't forget now are right up there on that flag pole and the memories of the people we had that died," said former NYPD detective Bill Ryan.
The plant has hosted a 9/11 ceremony since 2011. That is when it received part of the World Trade Center and built the site's memorial.
Ryan said first responders are still affected by injuries and illnesses they sustained that day or developed later.
"We've lost a lot of officers, firemen, construction workers. People of all walks are dying everyday from the ashes, the dust clouds, the toxins that filled the air that day, and that's probably the biggest reason not to forget because it doesn't forget. It just keeps going on," said Ryan.
The Kingston Fossil Plant's ceremony is one of many 9/11 tributes held in East Tennessee over the last couple of days.