On a Tuesday morning 20 years ago, the world changed forever. No matter where you were on September 11, 2001, you remember exactly how you felt at that moment and how you were impacted.  Myself I remember where I was as I was in my office at Cohoes City Hall preparing for a budget meeting.  It was a beautiful day outside with the sky as blue as I have ever seen but what was a quiet beautiful day became one we all will never forget.

 Two planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, a third plane hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth plane, known as Flight 93, crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as a result of the heroic actions of passengers on board who took on the terrorists to stop the plane from hitting an unknown target – no doubt saving many lives.

On that day, 2,977 innocent men and women were killed, including 344 firefighters, 72 law enforcement officers and 55 military personnel. The terrorists who perpetrated those horrific and despicable acts tried to bring us to our knees. However, their attack only served to strengthen our resolve.

 Countless heroes put their lives on the line that day as firefighters, police officers and emergency responders rushed to the scene. Thousands of the brave men and women who responded to the call of duty on that day were exposed to toxic fumes, ash and particle residue from the crash scenes. More than 400 of these first responders lost their lives that day and many others still suffer from lingering health impacts, including cancer, PTSD, respiratory disease, depression and anxiety.

However, the extraordinary bravery that was displayed on that day – including by ordinary citizens – was remarkable, and volunteers from across the country came to support their fellow Americans in their time of need. Amongst unspeakable tragedy, the American Spirit was more alive than ever.

 That’s why we will always honor these courageous heroes by providing them with any and all resources they need to recover from this tragedy and commit to strengthening services for first responders in the future.

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, we must remember those we lost and rededicate ourselves to caring for our fellow Americans and supporting our communities.

Personally, a former employee and cousin of my wife, John Reo, as well as his brother in law, John Swaine, both passed away that day.  I recall the minutes of those first few days as I was with the families as they went through a very difficult time, hoping against hope that both  survived.  Sadly neither did.  John Reo would be about 45 now.  I think often how this young man, just like John Swaine, would have made a great husband and father as well as a member of the community.  Sadly those days did not happen and it is something I, like many family members who lost loved ones, think about every day but especially are reminded on 9/11.

We will Never Forget.