Remembering 9/11 was what brought everyone together today at the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Elysian Park.
But looking ahead to another "unusual occurrence" was also on speakers' and attendees' minds.
"What have you done since 9/11 to make a difference for yourself and your family?" asked Jamie Moore, a Los Angeles Fire Department captain as the crowd awaited a scheduled helicopter flyover.
He also urged everyone to say "hello" to those standing near them, to emphasize that it is neighbors who will be the immediate source of help in a big emergency.
Moore, an LAFD PIO, was vamping as part of a program that also featured Los Angeles Emergency Department General Manager James Featherstone, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles City Fire Department Chief Brian Cummings and Los Angeles Police Department Head Charlie Beck.
Villaraigosa rang the 10 bells in a final remembrance ceremony that was followed by a bag-piped version of "Amazing Grace."
There was also the helicopter flyover in the "Missing Man" formation used by the military to honor fallen colleagues.
LAPD Northeast Division head William Murphy was in the crowd.
He told us he was actually pulling into the parking lot of the Hotchkin Center in 2001 when the towers fell.
He said, like the rest of us, remembers that moment vividly.
He credited the 9/11 disaster for helping his division focus on better training for LAPD officers to deal with disaster.
Like Moore his final message was "Get Ready" for the next one.
"We've had earthquakes, major fires, you name it," said Murphy. "So it's incumbent on everyone to plan."
Several 9/11 Remembrances went on around the area, including at Downtown L.A.'s new Grand Avenue park and Hollywood's LAFD Historical Society Musem.
Read more about the Grand Avenue event on Downtown LA blog here.
