09/11/2026
What a day to remember! ! Thank you and we will never forget! 
Today, we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, a day that forever changed our nation, the fire service, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and countless families.
I was not yet in the fire service when the attacks occurred. I answered the call years later, in 2009. But every firefighter who has joined this profession since that day carries the legacy of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The 343 firefighters of the FDNY who gave their lives that morning, along with the police officers, EMS personnel, military members, and thousands of innocent civilians, demonstrated extraordinary courage and selflessness in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Their actions remind us that service to others often requires great sacrifice.
As the years pass, our greatest responsibility is not only to remember—it is to teach. There are now young adults who were born long after September 11, 2001. Many know the date but not the stories, the courage, or the profound cost of that day. If we fail to tell those stories, we risk allowing one of the most defining moments in our nation's history to fade into a paragraph in a textbook.
Teach your children. Talk to your grandchildren. Share the stories of the firefighters, police officers, EMS personnel, service members, and ordinary citizens who chose courage over fear. Help the next generation understand that freedom is not free, that service to others is honorable, and that the greatest heroes are often ordinary people who answer an extraordinary call.
For those of us who wear the badge today, we honor their memory not only by serving our communities with integrity and dedication, but by ensuring their sacrifice is never forgotten. Their legacy lives on only if we are willing to pass it forward.
The day we stop teaching September 11 is the day we begin losing the lessons paid for with thousands of lives. Never assume the next generation will remember on its own—it is our responsibility to make sure they do. Tell the stories. Share the names. Honor the sacrifice. Keep the memory alive. Because a nation that forgets its heroes risks forgetting the values they died protecting.
Never Forget.