by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
City leaders honor those who sacrificed
“We will never forget and it’s not our plan to forgive anytime soon,” said Police & Fire Pension Fund Executive Director and Administrator John Keane at the fund’s annual “Fallen Heroes Memorial Breakfast” Friday.
On Sept. 11, 2001, 2,974 people died when the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed following an attack by terrorists, along with many others at The Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. Of those killed, 411 were emergency response employees including 343 New York firefighters, 37 members of the New York Police Department, 23 members of the New York-New Jersey Port Authority Police and six paramedics who worked for private companies.
The annual gathering of police officers, firefighters, elected officials and other guests is meant to keep the memory of those public safety personnel alive and honor their sacrifice.
During the event, Keane also spoke of other consequences from the terrorist attack.
“The long-term financial effects are still reverberating through our economy,” he said. “The New York Stock Exchange was closed for a week after the attack and on the day it reopened, it recorded the biggest one-day loss in history... $1.69 trillion in wealth has been lost in this country due to 9/11.”
State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit Angela Corey also addressed the attendees. She said while the events of Sept. 11, were a great tragedy, she was impressed by the “cohesive, righteous show of force that came out of this country.”
Corey also said, “We call them fallen heroes but I think of them as risen heroes. They faced adversity on Earth but rose to their reward after making the ultimate sacrifice.”
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