Speeches

9-11 Commander's Speech - 2004

Past generations talk of remembering where they were when a terrible event occurred. The attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec 7, 1941. The assassination of JFK, Nov. 22, 1963. I wasn’t even born yet when these events took place but I too have a date and an event that I remember exactly where I was when it happed, Sept. 11, 2001.

I remember being at work when the first plane crashed into the building. Shortly afterwards a co-worker came and said that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. My initial thoughts were, aren’t pilots supposed to have good eyesight? Then of course we heard about the second tower getting hit, the plane that crashed into the field, and the one that hit the Pentagon. Everyone was in complete shock. Needless to say, not much work got done that day. I’m sure that many of you have similar memories. 9/11 is a memory that will be forever etched into our Nations memory.

I also remember watching the news. The thing that struck me most, were all the people that were running away from the scene. However, there were also people running to the scene that day in complete disregard for their own safety. They were the NYC Policemen, Firemen, and Paramedics. They stayed at the World Trade Center trying desperately to save as many people as they could. I don’t think there has been a count of the number of people that were saved. We do know that 2,824 people lost their lives that day. Included in that number are the brave 343 Firemen and 50 Police Officers that never left their post. Selflessly doing their duty until the end.

The VFW, AMVETS, the VFW and AMVETS Ladies Auxiliaries, and Friends of 2408 honor the dead by serving the living. We do not forget and we honor our war dead. The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center was the first shot in the war on terror. The men and women that perished that day lie among our war dead. We will never forget.