‘Honor Summit’ to illuminate Mount Washington to commemorate Sept. 11, 2001, attacks

Nonprofit founded by businesswoman Renee Plummer raising funds to help veterans

As the nation commemorates the 25th anniversary of 9/11 this month, Portsmouth businesswoman Renee Plummer wants people in New Hampshire to embrace a new memory — one that will illuminate the summit of the highest peak in New England to honor veterans, firefighters and first responders.

“The Honor Summit” installation from Sept. 9 to 12 will feature two huge LED light beams that will reach 3 miles into the sky from the top of Mount Washington from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. each day and will be visible within a radius of 135 miles around the summit. (For details, visit honorsummitnh.org.)

Navy veteran, New Hampshire resident and American Airlines pilot Tom McGuinness died on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked AA Flight 11, which he was co-piloting, and flew it into the World Trade Tower. Another 42 passengers with New Hampshire connections, three of them also veterans, were among the 2,977 who died in the attacks.

The Granite Springs Foundation, which is organizing The Honor Summit, was founded by Plummer — vice president of Two International Group and longtime supporter of veterans.

The Summit was inspired by a similar installation that was hosted by the National 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York.

“As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, I find myself reflecting on how differently this day is experienced,” Plummer said in a statement announcing the tribute. “For many of us, the memory is immediate and deeply personal.

For others, especially kids, it is something learned, not lived. The Honor Summit was created to bridge that distance. To ensure that this moment in our history is not only remembered but felt — together.”

Brig. Gen. Al Aldenberg of the New Hampshire National Guard appeared with Plummer in a video posted to Facebook to promote the tribute.

“Here we are 250 years as a nation, and now we’re at the 25th anniversary of 9/11. As a society, as a country, we have become very fractured,” Aldenberg said. “This is an opportunity to kind of recalibrate, refocus and remember what happened to this country.”

It’s also a time to remember the first responders who perished trying to save the lives of others, Plummer said in the video.

“This is the time to stop everything and to think back about what they did for us.”