Each year, the City of Lawrence and especially the Fire Department organizes and conducts an event where the details of the attack we suffered on Sunday, September 11, 2001. The violent act was conducted by the organization known as Al-Qaeda and led by the terrorist Osama bin Laden who is fortunately missing.
As we recall, two planes crashed into the twin towers in the City of New York, one into the Pentagon and a fourth one crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.
It is estimated that these attacks killed 2,997 people including 343 firefighters from the City of New York. When everyone panicked, trying to flee the towers, only firefighters, emergency personnel and police, regardless of the danger, ran to their aid.
The ceremony was not only to remember those who died in the buildings and aircrafts, which were full of passengers, but those brave men who came to assist them.
The ceremony, simple but moving, started at the scheduled time, 9:00 A.M. and it lasted about an hour on a sunny Sunday, bringing to mind the kind of weather 15 years ago when the attacks occurred.
Perhaps the general public was unaware due to lack of information that this ceremony was to take place, but it is unforgivable that only three elected officials responded: Marc Laplante, Myra Ortiz and Jeovanny Rodriguez.
We know that they will come up with excuses for not being able to attend. We just want to remind them that those we honored on that day never presented any, and that there is no excuse for, at least once a year, getting together, bow our heads and say, “Thank You!”
