Time does not heal all wounds.
The pain of what happened on September 11th, 2001 has not subsided. We can put the tragedy of what took place on that day in the back of our minds, but we can never put it out of our hearts.
Every single day, Americans are still dying because of 9/11. Their lives continue to raise the death toll of that tragic day.
Let’s take some time to remember those victims and honor them. Let’s also take a few minutes to remember and honor those who still put their lives on the line every single waking hour, so that we here at home can go on living our lives and rebuilding the dreams that perished on that fateful day.
At Citi Field on Wednesday night, seven local agencies will be represented in a Joint Emergency Service Color Guard. Players will line up on the baselines for a moment of silence and the singing of the National anthem.
An FDNY representative and the daughter of a first responder singing on behalf of Tuesday’s Children will perform at Citi Field, one will sing the anthem and the other will sing God Bless America.
Before their game against the Nationals on Wednesday, the Mets will honor New York City’s first responders by wearing hats representing the city’s service departments during batting practice.
The first pitch will be thrown out by Lee Ielpi, president of the September 11th Families Association board of directors and co-founder of the Tribute WTC Visitor Center.
Yesterday, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and players David Wright, Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler visited a firehouse (Engine 54, Ladder 4 and Battalion 9) and have lunch on Tuesday. This is the ninth year in a row that Wright has visited a firehouse on or around Sept. 11. This particular house lost all 16 members 12 years ago.
“These men give their lives to protect us,” Wilpon said. “The least we can do is come here, shake some hands and have lunch with them.”
It took 10 days for baseball games to resume after 9/11, and then-New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani would say, “It’s how much baseball means to people and what it can do for a community, what it can do for a country.”
The first game back was at Shea Stadium. The Mets/Braves game on September 21, 2001 was the first sporting event that would ever be held in NY in a Post 9-11 America. Piazza said it was impossible to describe what he felt when he hit the two-run homer in the eighth inning that lifted the Mets to a 3-2 win.
“Every time I get back to New York, anywhere I go, even here just walking on the street, people do say that moment helped them try to turn the page a little bit and give them a little bit of a positive in an otherwise dark week,” he says now. “To be remembered for one home run, if that’s the home run, it’s definitely an honor .”
“You still to this day remember exactly where you were when this incident happened,” said Matt Harvey from the floor of the firehouse, which lost all 16 of its members in 2001.
“It was such a tragic event, but so many great things have come from it through everybody’s support, and especially the firefighters. They did so much. They still do so much. Anything we can give back to them to show them appreciation for all we do, it means the world to all of us.”
The best way to honor the fallen is to go on living our lives and cherishing the freedom for which they died defending.
The best way to honor the heroes who still fight to preserve our way of life, is to live our lives in a manner that is worth defending, and to reflect the values and the virtues of being an American, every single day.
Freedom and liberty can mean a million different things to a million different people, but there is one common truth that our differences cannot dissuade. Freedom is as fragile or as strong as the will of those who are willing to defend it.
Support Our Troops, Remember September 11th, and Be Proud to be an American.
