‘May we never forget’: 9/11 terrorist attacks recalled 25 years later
Terrorist attacks recalled 25 years later at South Strabane ceremony
On a sunny morning much like the one 25 years before, first responders and community members gathered in South Strabane Friday to remember the terrorist attacks that shook the world on Sept. 11, 2001.
This year’s remembrance was at the Tanger Outlets shopping center on Racetrack Road. It was a departure from previous ceremonies, which were held near the township’s 9/11 memorial at the edge of the parking lot of what once was Washington Mall. Construction of a Costco store at the site necessitated the change, and the ceremony will return to the memorial next year, according to Jordan Cramer, South Strabane’s fire chief.
“It’s difficult to comprehend that a quarter-century has passed since that September morning,” Cramer said. He noted that for young recruits just joining the ranks of first responders today, the attacks at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the plane that crashed in Shanksville, are “something they know from photographs and history books. Gatherings like this one are important every year.”
Getting underway at 8:45 a.m., right around the time the first plane hit the World Trade Center’s north tower, the solemn ceremony emphasized the passage of time and the toll 9/11 took on police and firefighters, particularly in New York City. All told, 72 law enforcement officers from various agencies died at the World Trade Center that day, along with 343 firefighters. The years since have seen more police and firefighters die due to illnesses they contracted as a result of being at the site during the cleanup in the months that followed.
The Rev. Robert Grewe, chaplain of the South Strabane Fire Department and pastor of First Lutheran Church in Washington, remembered Sept. 11, 2001, as “the day the skyline of New York and many lives were changed forever. The number of fallen first responders that day was staggering.”
He added, “It’s difficult to comprehend that a quarter-century has passed since that September morning.”
The Rev. Gary Gibson, director of spiritual life at Presbyterian Senior Care and chaplain for Washington Health System, noted that “terrorism of all kinds continues to plague our nation,” and has made its presence felt in schools, churches and other locations.
Cramer remembered how the country came together in the days after the attacks and said that 25 years later “we need to talk to one another rather than about one another.”
He added, “Remember that our time, individually and together, is not guaranteed. … We need to continue building a country worthy of those we lost.”