As many of you know yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country. These attacks affected our entire country, but most locally in New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA.
The reason I bring up the obvious is that some of our newer generation firefighters were barely alive or have never learned about this historical event in school, the impact it had on the fire service, and why we have memorials on this date. The videos and books from the time period are around, but you would have to diligently seek them out to get a historical review of what took place that day, and find accurate accounts.
With the newer generation of firefighters having little to no knowledge of this event, it is our responsibility and duty as the more senior generations of firefighters and officers to teach and instruct those who don’t know or only know that 9/11 is a special day for firefighters, because it’s so much more than that!!!
So what do we do now? As the leader of a progressive fire/rescue organization I feel that it is my responsibility to show (lead) my respect and obligation to honor those that went before me by participating in some type of memorial ceremony or climb/run/walk, at the very minimum that is a good first step. Yesterday I took part in the 9/11 Silent Walk in Charleston & Mt. Pleasant, SC. I give much props to Tian Griffieth and his crew for putting this event on and having much success with the execution. And as the leader of an organization I hope to inspire others to “Never Forget”, as well as educate and inform those who don’t remember or have never been told what took place on that horrible day.
Lead from the front!!
Stay safe and email me at: listening@thefirementor.net
Visit: www.thefirementor.net
