Orleans County reflects on Sept. 11, ‘a day that forever changed our nation’
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Firefighters are lined up for the Sept. 11, 2001 memorial observance on Monday evening at the Courthouse Square.
There were about 150 people at the 22nd anniversary service. On September 11, 2001, terrorists killed nearly 3,000 people and injured more than 6,000 others when four airplanes were hijacked and crashed – with two into the World Trade Center towers in new York City, one into the pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the other into a field in rural Shanksville, Pa.
In New York City, 343 firefighters were killed responding to assist people in the World Trade Center.
Members of the New York State Police, Orleans County Sheriff’s Office and Albion Police Department stand for the service.
There were 60 police officers killed in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.
Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said the United States was badly shaken from the terrorist attacks, which brought the country together in a spirit of sadness and patriotism. She said Sept. 11 remains “a day that forever changed our nation.”
“We must never forget those who died at the hands of undeniably ungodly evil people,” Johnson said. “And we must never forget how tens of thousands of first responders from across the country ran towards the danger to aid their fellow Americans at the Twin Towers, at the Pentagon, and the fields of Pennsylvania. The fateful events of that day forever changed our nation – and called on the bravery and selflessness of first responders as they faced unimaginable challenges.”
She said the terrorist attacks 22 years ago reshaped how Americans think of war and peace.
“Whether you lived the moments watching the horrors of that day, or if those who did have shared their own personal memories of that day with you, let us never to forget; never become complacent; and sadly never assume it will never happen again,” Johnson said.
James Hollinger of Albion was part of the Honor Guard at the service. A large American flag is in the background. It was draped high on Main Street from the Albion and Medina ladder trucks.
Carol Callina, a Navy veteran from Medina, plays Taps near the end of the half-hour service. She is on the steps of the County Clerks’ Building.
Scott Schmidt, the Orleans County chief coroner and a local funeral director, served as the keynote speaker at the observance. Schmidt spent three weeks with a federal team – U.S. Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT) – and assisted in collecting and identifying remains, and interviewing family members searching for loved ones.
He left for New York City on Sept. 11, 2001. He was there for 20 days, including a week at Ground Zero. Five of his colleagues on DMORT attended the service in Albion on Monday.
Schmidt said there have been 2,997 who were verified to have been killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Those people “are our brothers and sisters who were senselessly killed,” Schmidt said.
Many others have been afflicted from exposure to the dust from the collapse of the two World Trade Center buildings, Schmidt said.
He urged the crowd to reflect on the loss of life and the pain many people continue to experience from the attack. An airhorn was sounded from an Albion fire truck, which Schmidt said is sounded on a rescue call when firefighters are in danger and should evacuate from a burning building.
The sound of the airhorn “is a stark reminder that 2,997 is not just a number,” Schmidt said.
Other speakers included Don Snyder, chaplain for the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office, and Justin Niederhofer, director of the Orleans County Emergency Management Agency.
Snyder encouraged the community to consider joining their local volunteer fire department and other service organizations.
Niederhofer shared a timeline from 22 years earlier. On Sept. 11, 2001, at 8:46 a.m., the North Tower was struck in New York City. At 9:03, a plane hit the South Tower. At 9:37, the Pentagon was struck. At 9:59 p.m., the South Tower fell. At 10:07 a.m., Flight 93 crashed in rural Shanksville, Pa. At 10:28 a.m., the North Tower collapsed.
“We were attacked and wounded beyond belief but not beyond repair,” Niederhofer said.
Doug Egling, a musician from Albion, performed “God Bless America.”
A very large American flag was displayed high on Main Street from the Albion and Medina ladder trucks.
These firefighters work together to lower the flag and fold it.
