September 11th is now called Patriot Day and a National Day of Service and Remembrance. On this day, Americans across the nation are called to volunteer in their communities, recognizing those lives that were lost and injured in the attacks, firefighters, civilians, paramedics, police officers.
Most of us remember what we were doing on September 11, 2001. Maybe we were bringing our kindergartener to their first day of school. Maybe we were rushing our teenagers to the school bus, some of us may have been running late for work.
On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 innocent lives were lost due to the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including rural Pennsylvania, where another plane en route for more destruction crash-landed.
While buildings have been repaired and new sites erected in the wake of the attacks, there are many ways to continue to honor the fallen.
National Day of Service and Remembrance asks people to do at least one good deed in honor of those who died on September 11.
- Celebrate local heroes by visiting or making donations of food or supplies to local firehouses and police stations.
- Engage in service projects that can help your community, including its underserved individuals, like veterans.
Today we reflect on this indelible moment in history and with that, reconsidering the effect that this date has had on our country and the world.