Twenty-five years later, a responsibility to remember

Dear Editor,

Twenty-five years ago, on Sept. 11, 2001, our nation experienced a tragedy that forever changed America.

For North Salem, 9/11 was not a distant event unfolding on television. It touched our own community, our neighbors and our families.

Among those we remember is FDNY Lt. Vincent G. Halloran of North Salem, who was just 43 years old when he was killed at the World Trade Center. A husband and father, Lt. Halloran was deployed to help evacuate the North Tower. His sacrifice, and the family he left behind, remain part of North Salem’s history.

For our Town Supervisor, Warren J. Lucas, Sept. 11 also carries an intensely personal memory. Warren has recounted that he was supposed to be at the World Trade Center for an 8:30 a.m. meeting that morning, but missed the meeting. Twenty-five years later, the enormity of how differently that morning could have ended is difficult to comprehend.

There are countless stories like these throughout Westchester and the New York metropolitan area: people we lost, people who narrowly escaped, first responders who ran toward danger, and families whose lives were divided forever into before Sept. 11 and after Sept. 11.

As we commemorate the 25th anniversary, we should remember not only the horror of that morning, but what followed.

Americans helped Americans. Strangers helped strangers. First responders demonstrated extraordinary courage. Flags appeared on homes and businesses throughout our communities. Political differences suddenly seemed insignificant compared with what bound us together as a country.

Perhaps, 25 years later, remembering that unity is more important than ever.

There is now an entire generation of Americans who were not alive on Sept. 11, 2001. “Never Forget” therefore carries a new responsibility. Those of us who remember must tell the story. We must teach our children what happened, remember those our communities lost, honor those who answered the call, and ensure that the passage of time never diminishes their sacrifice.

On this 25th anniversary, the North Salem Republican Town Committee remembers all those who were taken from us as New Yorkers, and as a nation. We honor the firefighters, police officers, EMTs and ordinary citizens who demonstrated the very best of humanity on one of America’s darkest days.

We also remember Sept. 12, when a wounded country stood together.

Twenty-five years later, may we remember those we lost, honor those who served, and never forget what united us as Americans.

-The North Salem Republican Town Committee