Naperville honors Navy Commander Dan Shanower with a 25th anniversary ceremony Friday, Sept. 11, at the Riverwalk memorial built in his name.

The 5 p.m. remembrance at the Commander Dan Shanower Memorial, behind the Naperville Municipal Center at 400 S. Eagle St., caps a day-long tribute that began with a predawn ruck march. The City of Naperville and Naperville Responds for Veterans are co-hosting the event, according to the city. The Naperville Municipal Band opens with music at 4:45 p.m.

Shanower, a Naperville native, was killed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. He was 40.

Charles Johanns, a longtime resident and friend of the Shanower family, co-chaired the memorial commission alongside then-Mayor George Pradel. "My wife thought, 'Maybe a plaque and a flagpole.' But it really snowballed," Johanns told NCTV17.

The community raised nearly $300,000 in private donations over two years. The memorial was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2003. NCTV17 described it as one of the nation's first major 9/11 monuments.

Three artifacts anchor the site: granite from the Flight 93 crash site in Pennsylvania, limestone rubble from the Pentagon and a twisted steel beam from the World Trade Center. Former Naperville Fire Department Captain Chuck Wehrli, who spent 10 days in search and rescue at Ground Zero, helped bring the steel beam back. He said the entire construction was donated.

Wehrli paid a lasting price for that work. He was later diagnosed with Stage IV tongue cancer, which he attributed to dust inhaled at the site. CBS Chicago reported that during his time at Ground Zero, Wehrli recovered the body of FDNY firefighter Joe Angelini Sr., a man who had once given him the patch off his hat. Both Angelini and his son died that day.

The centerpiece sculpture, "Lean on Us," was designed by artist Bill Cooper of Benton Harbor, Michigan. Sculpted into the work are an outline of Shanower's boot print, insignias of New York-area rescue workers and the number 93 for the Flight 93 victims. A "Wall of Faces" created by local schoolchildren and an eternal flame complete the site, which is part of the Century Walk Public Art Collection.

Marty Walker, a veteran firefighter affiliated with Naperville Responds for Veterans, has led the annual ceremony since 2010. "We all took an oath to never forget," Walker told NCTV17. He said Naperville's commitment to the remembrance remains strong and he plans to keep it going as long as possible.

The scheduled program includes remarks by Mayor Scott Wehrli, a combined color guard from the Naperville Fire and Police departments, American Legion Post 43 and VFW Post 3873, a wreath laying by the Shanower family, and "Amazing Grace" performed by the Firefighter Highland Guard of Naperville. Retired Marine Maj. Charles Lynn Lowder, co-founder of the Veteran Business Project, is the keynote speaker.

Friday morning, Naperville Responds for Veterans hosted a three-mile 9/11 Memorial Ruck March starting at 6 a.m. from Naperville Safety Town at 1320 Aurora Ave. The route included a climb of the Moser Tower Millennium Carillon. Registration was $40 per participant; children 12 and under were free.

Two beams of light representing the Twin Towers shone behind the Municipal Center from dusk Thursday, Sept. 10, until dawn Friday, Sept. 11.

Wehrli's Missouri Task Force 1 helmet is on display at Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St.