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What does 9/11 mean to you.
Well its here again and I wanted to ask what does this day mean to you. The picture on my profile is of Lee Ilepi who was not only my first chief but a member of Rescue 2 FDNY the helmet in his hands is his sons who was a member of Squad 288 FDNY and a friend. Lee spent 2 weeks waiting to find his sons body and bring it home. John was not only FDNY but Asst. Chief of the local volunteer department in the town I grew up in and his father is a life member and Ex-chief. This day means more then a day of loss it means more it means a day of understanding of what all of us do paid or unpaid it doesn't matter what matters is the sacrifice we all make all the time. Some have sacrificed more then others giving there life but each of us have given something, our time our care and our love for one another. Please remember not only our lost brothers but all of those who given everything for others. For me its a day to remember my older brother and the man and fire fighter he was To you Ray rest in peace and I know you are first due on the best department there is.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Rich on
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One of my former Chief's and my Out going Chief are Squad 288. We at the Huntington Manor FD Lost our 3 Assistant Chief Peter A Nelson whom was in Rescue 4. He is missed Dearly. Had he been alive these past two years would have been his term as Chief. He is a good man that is sorely missed. His wife was Pregnant at the time and she went into Labor when we were finally able to have Peter's funeral. Today we will take a trip to visit his grave and have a Candle light vidual @ night, Both of which we will have our quint 2-4-8 with us. The truck was dedicated in his honor.
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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Rich it is people like you whom will make sure the memory of 9-11 will never go away. I hate the constant "out of sight out of mind" attitude thats seen globally. Polaticians rely on this to allow budget cuts and to screw the fire service more and more. I got to hand it to you, it takes true brotherhood and dedication to not only postmark your quint with this, but to go and stand by his side with the candle light vigil. Bless your heart and the fire department you belong to as well as all departments alongside FDNY that lost a brother or sister on 9-11
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Permalink Reply by Kevin King on
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This is the day that should truely live in infamy,6 years ago today for the first time in the history of this great nation our native soil was violated.To me this is the day that we should take a few moments to reflect and remember all that was lost on that fateful day,and how the people of this nation came together in a time of crisis.GOD BLESS THIS GREAT NATION.To the familys and and close friends that lost loved ones that day,my heart still goes out to ya. God bless,Godspeed to all of US
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Dan, your absolutely right. Again as I posted to Rich it has affected us all in a personal way. It is one of the few events across the world where everyone can remember where they were whom they were with and what they were doing. Please keep up the fight to have this day remembered forever! America now tomorrow and 20 years from now need to remember those who we have lost. God bless be well
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Permalink Reply by Dan Hoey on
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The sad part I asked my kids what are they doing in school today about this day and they answered NOTHING!!! Thats sad this day should be talked about and taught about in our schools every year. You know history those who don't learn from it are doomed to repeat it. This country still rather talk about which star is screwing which and who took to many drugs and how much a double latte cost at star bucks I am truly wondering whats going to happen in this country ...Ok off my soap box
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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May the world never forget this day. May our prayers be heard for everyone that we lost on 9-11. May our prayers be heard for those we continue to loose due to side effects from that god awful day. May we support our soldiers that put their butts on the line every day so that we may be free. God Bless this Great Nation.
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Permalink Reply by Matthew on
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It is true that nationwide the memory of 9/11 is not as strong as it was in the days following those tragic events, and the first few years for that matter. It is sad to see that schools and school children are not participating in the memorials that are offered in the many towns in and around the City of New York to remember local residents who were lost. I do believe it is still strong in the memories of everyone in this area. I have heard comments from people I know from other parts of the country to the affect that we are more patriotic and vigilant in the memory of 9/11 than they have ever seen in their part of the country. This event hit home for many of us, beacuse the area of New York City reaches far beyond the borderlines of the five boroughs. It reaches far into New York, New Jersey and Conneticut but most importantly it reaches our hearts. This is our home, we are all binded by that one common thread...We live in the shadow of the greatest city of the world.
I'll ask you this though, are you as passionate about the events that occured in Shanksville and at the Pentagon, as you are about Ground Zero? I know I am not, I think a big part of that for me is that as tragic as those events were, I'm not connected to them like I am the events that occured here. Maybe it's because I saw duty in the city in the days that followed 9/11 and that far overshadowed those other parts of the tragedy or that because I live here I chose to connect with Ground Zero more. Whatever the reason my point is; I think that is whats going on elsewhere in our country... it's not their familes that were attacked, or their friends, or their co-workers. It's easy for them to pick up and move on. It's hard for them to remember, for while it was a tragedy, it did not hit home for them. Much like Pearl Harbor Day means little to the kids living today, I think this day means so much to us for we were witness to it and it deeply impacted our lives, much like it effects those who lived at the time of Pearl Harbor, our children and our childrens', children will slowly lose the meaning that we find in this day. If for no other reason than they weren't alive, or old enough to comprehend these horrible events. For me this day is sacred, and I will always hold it as such until the day I die. As much as I want this to mean something for my children, I would rather them not have to remember it, and never have to experience something like it. I will always want them to respect it and it's meaning...but I am thankfull they will only hear about it in history lessons or second hand accounts. I will NEVER FORGET...and remembering starts with me. It starts with all of us. Stay Safe Brothers, God be with all of you.
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Permalink Reply by Tom Kenney on
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“3-4-3”
It’s funny how people remember us
From that fateful day
As the heroes who climbed the towers
Passing workers on the way
They see the footage of us in the lobby
Preparing for the haul
The look on our faces, they say
Surely says it all
“They knew they were going to die“,
They tell each other
“You can see it in their eyes as they
Greet a fellow brother”
They fail to realize it’s not uncommon
For us to show our fear
But we never allow the fear to stop us
We just keep each other near
We may be proud, we may be brave
But suicidal, we’re not
We take many risks to do our jobs
Giving all we’ve got
They think we know it’s a death sentence
As we enter the lobby door
Unaware that not a man here among us
Had not been here before
As we walk through the valley of death again
That old familiar place
We can’t accept that we’ll leave our souls
And feel death’s cold embrace
If we had known we would never come out
We’d have never gone in
Fearing and knowing are two different things
So we hold our doubts within
As we climbed up the stairs floor by floor
Searching zone by zone
It was saving lives that was on our minds
Not giving up our own
The Angel of Death is our frequent companion
A feared and lethal foe
But when he’s here for one of our own
How are we to know
We’re trained to push things to the limit
On each and every call
We’re well aware that lives are on the line
And we may sacrifice all
We live with this throughout our careers
Through every single shift
It hangs in the air like a shroud of fog
Which we can never set adrift
Some think it’s merely words when we say
We risk our lives for you
But we take this fact into account
In everything we do
That day in September in 2001
Was no different in our eyes
We could not have known what devastation
Was raining from the skies
We look down from above as our brothers
Desperately search “the pile”
They have no idea that we’re finally at rest
They’re still in denial
Our bravery that day seemed beyond belief
In the eyes of humanity
But the fact is we’ve faced our mortality before
Though you may question our sanity
We were merely men doing the job we loved
Down to our last breaths
We remain merely men in the scheme of it all
Even after our deaths
Copyright 2007 - Tom Kenney
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"Ten Seconds With God"
Ten Seconds With God
Ten seconds is a very long time
When that’s all you have to live
Time enough to make your peace
But not enough to give…
To give your honey one more kiss
To squeeze her oh so tight
To give your kids assurance that
Everything will be all right
From the moment I began this job
I’ve prepared for this day
So now, as He calls me home
It seems I know the way
Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom, kaboom
Like a freight train bearing down
I instantly knew how this would end
And I felt His peace surround…
Surround my body, and my soul
Surround my brothers in arms
I felt His love, like a giant cloak
Sheltering us from harm
While answering the call that day
I saw the second plane
It glided through the cloudless sky
Then burst into fiery rain
It rained down fire, rained down dust
It rained down bodies, too
It seemed no matter how we tried
There was nothing we could do
We knew that people trapped above
The hole that ripped the tower
Could never escape, with their lives
Without His awesome power
I prayed that day, a silent prayer
As I stepped inside the lobby
I knew that without His help
We’d only recover bodies
We started up the narrow stairs
While others were heading out
As we passed the scared civilians
Some began to shout…
“God bless you, our brave firemen.
You’re heroes to us all.”
But we were merely doing our jobs
Answering the call
We knew when we began the fight
We all would not survive
But by risking our lives for others
We keep the dream alive…
The dream that good will conquer all
And God will help us through
Reward us with eternal life
As we begin anew
I saw the face of God that day
As He led me to this place
His will, not ours, will be done
Accept this fact with grace
I understood, at once, that day
What we were sent here for
Watch over each other as best we can
For who could ask for more
Ten seconds is a very long time…
Copyright 2004 by Tom Kenney
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Permalink Reply by John Mc. on
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Alot of people need to show some respect for today. At the Salem County Fire Academy they usually have a 9/11 Rememberance ceremony. NOT TODAY! My girlfriend whos in the fire academy was telling me they cancelled it yesterday because people didnt feel like volunteering to help out with the ceremony. At least her fire company is having a ceremony of their own but of course the county fire academy couldnt find enough people to help.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa on
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You are right on the fact that the memory of this day, seems to be fading away. I will never forget and make sure that everyday, me and my 7 year old know who the true heros are in this country. No matter where I am in the country, my close friends and family have made this day, a verbal promise to be together. And we have kept that promise every year for the last 5. She lost her cousin in Tower 2 that day, and even though I didnt know any of those men or women in either of the tower, or in DC or Pa, My heart went down with every firefighter in that building. I have never activley been a paid fighter before, but I do know what the amount of love and devotion is in this brotherhood that is shared. So to everyone out there, know that I do hold everyone of you in my heart and soul everyday and do all I can to help everyone of yall as much as I know how. Thank you for giving me something to look forward to in my life.
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