September 11, 2001, remains one of the darkest days in American history. Nineteen terrorists carried out a coordinated attack that claimed the lives of 2,977 innocent people at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Among those murdered were office workers, parents, children, airline passengers, firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and countless others simply going about their daily lives.
In the days following the attacks, Ground Zero became a place of unimaginable devastation, but it also became a place where Americans came together to serve one another.
Among those who answered that call were members of the Trenton Rotary Club, including Charlie Parkerson, Dave Brideidinger, and other Trenton Rotarians, who traveled to the makeshift morgue near Ground Zero as part of the relief effort. Working from the canteen truck, they helped provide meals, food, and essential supplies to those working at the site.
Their work was not about recognition. It was about service.
They stood alongside thousands of other volunteers who came to Ground Zero to do whatever they could. Some prepared meals. Others delivered supplies. Others supported firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, recovery crews, and volunteers who worked tirelessly amid the ruins. The 9/11 Memorial recognizes that thousands of volunteers came to Ground Zero to support the rescue, recovery, and cleanup efforts.
For Trenton Rotary, this was Service Above Self in its most profound form.
The members who went to Ground Zero witnessed firsthand the enormous human cost of the terrorist attacks. They saw a city grieving, families searching for loved ones, and first responders continuing to work despite the unimaginable loss around them.
343 FDNY firefighters and paramedics, 37 Port Authority Police officers, 23 NYPD officers, and hundreds of other emergency personnel were among those who lost their lives that day. In total, 441 first responders from more than 30 agencies were killed on September 11.
They were husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors. They ran toward danger while others were running away.
Today, 25 years later, we remember every life taken by terrorism on September 11, 2001. We remember the passengers aboard the four hijacked airplanes. We remember the people who never made it out of the Twin Towers. We remember those at the Pentagon. We remember the passengers and crew of Flight 93 who fought back against the hijackers. And we remember the first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice trying to save others.
We also remember the countless volunteers who answered the call to help in the aftermath.
The years may pass, but the memory must never fade.
We will never forget the 2,977 innocent lives murdered by terrorists on September 11, 2001.
We will never forget the courage of those who ran toward danger.
We will never forget the families who lost loved ones.
And we will never forget the spirit of service, compassion, courage, and unity that emerged from the darkness.
Trenton Rotary remembers.
America remembers.
We will never forget.
