If you’re going to miss the many other memorials on Sunday for any reason (football!?!) or if you’d like to mark the day and pay homage with your firefighters, we will be holding our annual memorial in front of the HQ Fire Station (1001 Sixth) starting at 06:53 in the morning. All are welcome to attend.
I can still recall waking up to the news that morning and then the abrupt, incredulous interruption . . . kissing my wife goodbye a little longer than usual . . . and leaving for work much earlier than normal. I remember the assembled crews at HQ watching together as the towers came down . . . knowing that both buildings were still full of people . . . and likely hundreds of our brother firefighters trying to get them to safety and to put out the fires. I remember wondering if Coronado was on the hit list and being prepared to be at work for a long time if need be . . . .
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to go home the next morning, but 343 of the Fire Department of New York’s bravest did not, and neither did over 2600 others. Many thousands more have since died and the global toll continues to rise. Let us gather to remember the sacrifices of so many on this day that has defined an era and changed us all irreparably.
We Mourn.
UPDATE: Video shot and added to eCoronado.com by Al Graham:
