TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER — WE WILL NEVER FORGET

Twenty five years ago on the quiet peaceful morning of September 11, 2001, we all remember where we were when we were attacked by radical Jihad Terrorist. These terrorist murdered our family members, our friends, our coworkers, firefighters, police officers, transit workers, innocent men, women and children, and today we remember and mourn.

September 11th is deeply personal for me.

All of us knew someone that was lost that day. In my family, we lost my wifes cousin who was a new employee at Cantor Fitzgerald. His body was never recovered. On the job, Transit Police Officer Timothy Roy, who worked with us for years in the bus crimes unit out of Casey Stengel Depot. Both of these men were murdered because terrorist hate America, our way of life and all that we stand for.

In addition to having a family member and a coworker who were killed that day, I carry vivid memories of both terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

In 1993, I was a Bus Operator when the World Trade Center was first attacked. Eight years later, on September 11, 2001, I was working the PM Car as a Dispatcher at Casey Stengel Depot when our world changed forever.

Our country has never been the same since those terrorists hijacked four airplanes and carried out attacks against the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the passengers and crew of Flight 93, which came down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

America saw firsthand the devastation radical terrorism can cause when given the opportunity to attack innocent people. We learned many painful lessons from September 11th. But as the years pass, we must never allow time to turn remembrance into complacency.

Like Transit Workers throughout New York City, we immediately sprang into action. We helped move people away from Ground Zero, brought people into areas where they were needed, and did whatever we could to assist with the rescue and recovery effort.

Transit Workers were there.

Firefighters were there.

Police Officers were there.

Everyday New Yorkers were there.

Twenty-five years later, the site of Ground Zero has been transformed into a memorial. We have continued with our lives, raised our families, gone to work, and watched another generation grow up and elect a Mayor that has ties to people that hate America and say that September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were brought on ourselves.

We must remain vigilant against terrorism and extremism in all its forms. We must stand together as Americans and defend the freedoms, constitutional principles, and democratic values that define our nation.

I will never forget my family member who was murdered that day. I will never forget my coworker, Transit Police Officer Timothy Roy. And I will never forget being at Casey Stengel Depot as a Dispatcher when the world changed forever.

I will never forget the Transit Workers who answered the call.

I will never forget the firefighters, police officers, emergency workers, and ordinary New Yorkers who put themselves in harm’s way to help others.

And I will never forget the innocent men, women, and children whose lives were taken from them.

Twenty-five years later, we remember.
We mourn.
We honor their lives.
And we will never forget.

Philip Valenti, President