MONROE, CT — Sept. 11, 2001, dawned an idyllic fall day in New England, but the peace vanished instantly in smoke and fire as terrorists crashed airplanes like flying bombs into the World Trade Center, ultimately killing thousands of people.
Today that scene is unfamiliar to many who were too young to remember or were born many years later, a problem that drives Monroe emergency officials to commemorate the day every Sept. 11 since then. Town police, firefighters and EMS workers again marked the 24th annual ceremony outside of the Monroe Volunteer Fire Department Thursday night.
The country was united in “freedom, the common good and the dignity of human beings” after the 2001 attacks, but not as much today, said Father Joseph Gill, of St. Jude Roman Catholic Church.
“It’s possible to learn these lessons we learned on Sept.12,” he said. He also encouraged people to live “lives of love, forgiveness and unity.”
While the initial casualties were high, tens of thousands more followed for years due to the toxic dust that covered Ground Zero. Many who responded in the rescue efforts developed breathing issues and cancer, said Monroe Fire Chief Kevin Catalano.
“Three thousand lives were taken,” Catalano said in his opening remarks. “Unfortunately, the death toll continues.”
After surveying the gathering of police, firefighters, EMS workers and civilians including the fire department’s Ladies Auxiliary, Catalano gave thanks. “As always, we rally around each other. It’s a great brotherhood, a great sisterhood,” he said.
Children of firefighters in New York were also inspired to follow in their parents’ footsteps despite the risks of the job, he added.
Dave York, chaplain and a former Stevenson Volunteer Fire Department chief, recalled a “beautiful, clear blue sky” just before the attacks.
“We didn’t know what was ahead of us,” he said. “In the past 24 years we have really put ourselves back together.”
The change was immediate, said Bill Davin, president and past Monroe Volunteer Fire Department chief, urging listeners to “never take one second of your life for granted.”
He also praised the reactions of the emergency workers who charged into Ground Zero. “None of these responders hesitated entering the towers to perform their duties,” the former chief said. “Twenty-four years ago, a pledge was made: ‘We’ll never forget.’”
The country learned the fragility of peace and the need for vigilance after “the most egregious attacks on the United States soil since Pearl Harbor,” according to First Selectman Terrence P. Rooney.
“The lives lost that day revealed the threats that exist while we make a daily effort to live peaceful and productive lives. Ground Zero will always be a painful reminder that peace can disappear instantly and that we all need to live vigilantly,” Rooney said.
Other speakers included state Sen. Jason Perillo, R-21st, Monroe EMS Chief Craig Rosenberg, and the Rev. Jennifer Gingras of the Monroe Congregational Church.
MVFD Firefighter Ben Brown rang the department’s ceremonial bell and Masuk High School students sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Food and fellowship followed with homemade treats donated from Spadaccino and Leo P. Gallagher & Son Community Funeral Home.
Perillo said youth must always know about Sept. 11. “We have an obligation to remind young people of what we did. They don’t have that memory,” he said. “It doesn’t end with us.”
The attacks may have destroyed buildings, but they rallied rescue workers, Rosenberg added. “The first responders wore a lot of different uniforms, but they were united in task,” he said.
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