09/11/2026
25 Years Later. We Remember.
On September 11, 2001, our nation was forever changed.
2,977 lives were lost in New York City, at the Pentagon, and aboard four aircraft. They were first responders and service members, passengers and crew, coworkers and friends, parents and children, people who began an ordinary Tuesday never knowing it would become a day remembered for generations.
But September 11 is remembered not only for what was taken from us. It is also remembered for what people gave.
Courage. Service. Sacrifice.
At the World Trade Center, as thousands tried to escape, firefighters, law enforcement officers and EMS personnel moved toward danger. At the Pentagon, first responders, military personnel and civilians rushed to help the injured. Aboard Flight 93, passengers and crew fought back, preventing the aircraft from reaching its intended target. And behind the response were voices rarely seen of telecommunicators who answered the calls for help.
Different places. Different acts of courage. One nation responding as one.
And when September 11 ended, the sacrifice did not. Rescue and recovery continued for months, and for thousands of responders, workers and survivors, the physical consequences would continue for decades.
Twenty-five years later, we honor all who were lost and all who carried the weight of that day forward.
For Cumberland County Emergency Services, we also remember the example left by those who answered the call: when people needed help, they went.
They went up the stairs.
They went toward the wreckage.
They went to the injured.
They stood up for strangers.
Extraordinary courage, in different places, from people united by a willingness to serve.
Today, we remember their names. We honor their sacrifice. We carry their example forward.
One nation. Forever united.
We will never forget.
