This 9/11 ceremony had a surprise guest visitor — a bald eagle, video shows

As Sept. 11 tributes took place throughout the country Tuesday, one featured a special guest that set it apart.

At the 9/11 memorial organized by the Andover, Minn., Fire Department, video shows an unexpected visitor join the moment shared by firefighters and others on the scene.

The firefighters had raised an aerial ladder from one of their trucks that sat along Interstate 10, as a salute of the firefighters who died trying to rescue people from the collapsed World Trade Center buildings, according to a video on the department’s Facebook page. But right around the national moment of silence on Tuesday morning, Andover Fire Chief Jerry Streich caught a glimpse of a very special — and unexpected — guest who flew in to pay respect.

A bald eagle landed, and sat briefly, on the raised aerial ladder. As passing cars honked their own salutes, the bird surveyed the scene.

“Isn’t that unbelievable,” Streich says as he zooms in on the patriotic guest. “This eagle just landed on our aerial while we’re doing the 9/11 memorial. Phenomenal.”

The majestic moment quickly spread across the internet. By Tuesday evening, the video had been shared more than 60,000 times and viewed nearly 900,000 times.

“I have chills watching this,” one viewer said in the comment section.

This story was originally published September 11, 2018 at 6:13 PM with the headline "This 9/11 ceremony had a surprise guest visitor — a bald eagle, video shows."