Patriot Day serves dual purpose on Sept. 11

Twenty-three years ago, on the beautiful early fall morning of Sept. 11, 2001, we saw the aftermath of what we thought was a tragic accident — a plane had flown into one of the World Trade Center towers.

Minutes later, though, our shock turned to horror and then fear as a second plane flew into the other tower. Moments later, both towers fell, leaving a gaping hole in the NYC skyline and a void in our collective psyche.

This wasn’t an accident. It was an attack.

Over the next little while, a third plane would strike the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth plane would go down in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, after several passengers attempted to retake the cockpit from the terrorists.

All told, nearly 3,000 people died that day on American soil at the hands of a small group of radicalized Saudi Arabians and Egyptians, led by someone few outside high levels of the military and intelligence community had ever heard of — Osama bin Laden.

We would embark on what then-President George W. Bush termed a “global war on terrorism” to root out those responsible. Years later, U.S. special forces located and killed bin Laden. They buried him at sea.

Because of that day’s importance, Sept. 11 each year is Patriot Day in the United States. Its narrow purpose is to honor the victims of those terrorist attacks.

Over time, we have broadened the scope a bit to recognize first responders.

Those folks — police, firefighters, paramedics/medical technicians — played a unique role on that horrible day. It was their job to run into the burning buildings to save those inside. Were it not for their heroic actions, the death toll would have been much, much higher.

Many of them lost their own lives that day: New York Fire Department (and other) firefighters/paramedics, 343; New York Police Department officers, 23; and Port Authority officers, 37. It was far and away the deadliest day in the history of NYFD.

It is fitting to have a national holiday that honors first responders. These men and women serve in communities across this nation, and their life-saving reach is vast. Arriving quickly on the scene of vehicle accidents, medical emergencies and countless other dangerous situations, these folks work in the so-called “golden hour”, the precious time in which a life can slip away.

SEMO Vets, a local veterans organization, will do their part to honor first responders on this holiday with a barbecue lunch at Cape County Park North.

Patriot Day serves a dual purpose. It reminds us of Sept. 11, 2001, allowing us to recommit to fighting terrorism around the world so we never have it revisit our shores. And it provides us the opportunity to thank first responders whose service we value and hope we never need.