F D N Y

There are many images seared into our memory of September 11, 2001. Warm sunshine. Blue sky. Suddenly, planes. Fireballs. Smoke. Ash. Detritus. Figures leaping. Buildings collapsing. Dust-encrusted faces of the living, shocked, terrified, lost. The jagged aftermath. Photos of the missing. And finally, darkness. A photo album created by evil strangers of the worst images forever branded on the living...always to be remembered and never forgotten.

On that tragic day, 10 years ago tomorrow, 2,983 innocent people were slaughtered in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and New York City by crazed Islamic fanatics in an attempt to cripple our democracy. Our innocence as a country was lost that day but our courage was emboldened. The symbol of that fateful day was the beyond courage first responders, firemen, police officers, EMTs, priests in New York City who ran headlong with purpose afoot into the fiery inferno to help others in need. Pause and think about THAT for a moment.

In the South Tower, fireman Mike Kehoe, pictured above, was photographed in one of the stairwells on his way up to danger while others were going down to safety. This iconic image of Mike's face flashed around the world which became the heroic symbol of what these first responders faced that day. They hustled up those stairwells with 100 pound packs to save those who couldn't save themselves. His pensive face became the face of heroism for all of those brave but terrified firefighters. Many of Mike's fellow firefighters died that day as the South Tower then the North Tower unbelievably collapsed. Paradoxically, the global face of this tragic heroism, Mike Kehoe, made it out alive. Sadly, to this day, Mike is wracked with punishing guilt that he made it to safety while many of his buddies didn't make it out alive.

This past month, I visited the fabulous Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Among the many treasures of that library is a structural beam from the remains of the North Tower, pictured above, emblazoned with FDNY 343. It was donated to the library by the New York City Fire Department with the following inscription:

"At 8:47AM on September 11, 2001 Emergency Reporting System Box 8087 transmitted a call for help to Battalion 1 of the Fire Department of New York that an aircraft had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Ultimately, thousands of New York City firefighters responded to the call to rescue victims trapped in the North and South Towers. When America was under attack by terrorists on this tragic day, 343 firefighters perished. From the rubble of the North Tower this 14 foot structural beam was recovered. Weighing approximately 1,200 pounds, the beam is imprinted with FDNY 343 representing those 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice."

Mike Kehoe and his buddies at WTC, the "Let's Roll" team on United 93 above Pennsylvania, the bravery of those who helped the innocent victims at the Pentagon are heralded as forever heroes.

I love and admire them all greatly. I pray for those they left behind.

ALWAYS REMEMBER.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.