on September 11th 2001 I was a student teacher at lawrenville High School in an English classroom full of 23 nth grade students I was also a senior in college on September 11th 2024 I stand here as a principal at Timber Creek in a school full of 1,00 18 students today I am gifted with the heavy responsibility of recollection yet I am also gifted with the tremendous responsibility of educating those students who cannot recall relate or remember my job then was to comfort students in a time of Crisis my job now is much different here's the thing our freshman at Timber Creek Regional High School were born in 2010 that means they've never experienced the incredible debut of the breakfast club or purple rain and that's just a tragedy in and of itself and they cannot actualize the events of 9/11 they simply were not here my point is this our students today may not share our same level of innate familiarity but this 911 memorial at Timber Creek is a tremendous way to bridge our past with their present just a few years ago we debuted our beautiful 911 memorial at Timber Creek Regional High School it is amazing amazing this impactful Monument was a labor of love visioned by Mr Rob dealo Mr Anthony Tarana Mr Rob morca Mr Bob maresi Mr Nick katone Mr Steve Arena our Board of Education history club and terrific teachers like Mr Jack Campbell Mrs Lauren Griffin and Mrs Verna km collectively their contributions leave a legacy for all students and families to reflect rever and remember at this time I'd also like to thank the agencies the Departments the branches of service and the rescue organizations that helped to protect our freedoms maintain our health and safety and prevent future acts of terrorism we greatly appreciate your service President George W bush affirms one of the worst days in American history saw some of the bravest acts in American history we'll always honor the heroes of 9/11 here at this hollowed place we pledge that we will never forget get their sacrifice this is indeed a day to mourn loss and the degradation of hate but this is also a day to celebrate the spirit of unity and the restoration of Hope consider this for perspective on this day 23 years ago 246 people went to sleep in preparation for their morning flights 2,66 people went to sleep in preparation for work in the morning 343 firefighters went to sleep in preparation for their morning shift 60 police officers went to sleep in preparation for morning Patrol eight paramedics went to sleep in preparation for the morning shift of saving lives and none of them took a breath past 10:30 a.m. on September 11th 2001 as we exit today I implore you to do something worthwhile with the breaths that you take be grateful be kind to others Embrace hope serve explore possibilities and I do believe it is Our Fate to consistently examine ways to make our world great thank you all for visiting with us today in charger country at this time I'd like to introduce the glosser Township police chief David Harkins this day again I speak with the mayor earlier we attended another event at 7 A.M at the choose Landing fire department U where they have a memorial and uh I spoke to many of the firefighters there uh speaking and making sure that they know about this Memorial this Memorial here at Timber Creek we're blessed first to have two living pieces of that day the World Trade Center uh memorials we have one here and we also have one at Cho Landing fire company and how important it is for us to as principal McKenzie said to honor those who took their last breath that day now on that day as we heard it was a beautiful day where mayor and I were just speaking it was a day just like this it was this nice out the sky was as blue as that and just as I hear a plane going over for those of us that live that day it connects with us um and then the the silence that occurred as all planes were grounded for several days after while the country recovered the silence in the air was deafening um we heard about those firefighters those police officers those EMS workers those 125 military workers all those 265 people who died on the four hijacked airplanes and we think of them today and we there that day is for us as principal McKenzie said etched in our memory forever we know where we were and I understand you know it's getting to that point where many of you uh many people who weren't born the younger Generations weren't born but it is so important that we recognize why it is so important to recognize that day I heard a staggering statistic this morning that for the first year the fire department of New York has had more deaths from 911 related illnesses than they did in fact from those that were killed in the line of duty running into the towers that day 370 firefighters have died from illnesses related to all the poisons they ingested in the cleanup and the recovery of ground zero so we remember them many of you may be wondering why you know we somberly recognize this day what's the big deal and I think that the best answer to that is that it had such a profound impact on your parents' generation as well as all of us it's changed things for us changed the way we've lived many things for the better some things not for the better and but it's an event that has for we must recognize that it's an event that forever changed the trajectory of our country and our world and as any good history Professor will tell you if we fail to study history we will be doomed to repeat it we recognize that this was the first time that our American citizens moms and dads Sons and Daughters brothers and sisters husbands and wives just regular people who went to work that day a normal beautiful day were killed just for being Americans and it changed the way we lived we watched in horror as those Towers were attacked and many of us at the time I was a police officer of about five six years and uh we were supposed to be in training that day I was also a volunteer firefighter at chws Landing fire department but we watched together as those Towers were attacked and we wanted to be there we wanted to help we wanted to do as our brother and sister emergency workers were doing we watched as those police officers firefighters and other first responders rushed into the buildings While others ran out we recognized that although this death and destruction occurred it was the greatest Rescue Mission in the history of the Emergency Services more people were rescued than ever even imaginable and I'll never forget the attack on the Pentagon it was very surreal as we saw the attack on the World Trade Centers and you're still trying to reel and figure out what's going on and it wasn't until then that I believe you know we really started to say how big is this attack on our country it was numbing and it was frustrating because us as police officers we wanted to rush and do something and as bad as that day was I do miss some things about that time I miss that feeling of unity the way Americans rallied together after the 9/11 attack and I also remember were feeling very different on September 12th and I hope I never have to feel that way again there were no airplanes in the sky as I said and it was very spooky every nothing was moving everything was locked down as we recovered and tried to see how bad it was we didn't know if that was the first wave or maybe the next attack would be a hospital or whatever nothing like this has ever happened in America the television was nothing but news and it was all heartbreaking for us and your parents who had to see it videos of people jumping to their desk people crying into cameras desperately looking for their loved ones and all of us as Americans felt their pain and loss we still thought there might be people pulled from the wreckage where the survivors might have gotten to a medical facility somehow and that was a nice thing that there was hope how does this still affect us as I said it changed the trajectory of our country it changed the way we operate today and for so many it changed their lives by our military Heroes who stepped up to serve our country in the military who went to serve overseas that lost their lives and were permanently changed through injury service and forever never changed the way we do and that still continues today just this morning we have uh two bler Township police officers that are serving the New Jersey Army National Guard and they've been deployed for coming up on a year and I was so pleased this morning I received an email from officer Zach Bloom who's deployed to Syria they're right in middle of troubled areas right now and they participated to remember the Heroes of 911 by participating in a rack suck run and he proudly sent me a photograph of him holding up the Gloucester Township Police Service flag that we sent him off to this is impacting Us in these ways these days so we must never forget them we must never forget the patriotism and unity that the events of that fateful day and the days that followed happened American flags were everywhere and it's so uh satisfying to me as I pull into Timber Creek and this is a replication of what was around all over the place I commend Timber Creek staff I commend those who are remembering and having this service because it is so important for you young people to recognize how this has changed things that's why we're here today we continue to commit to never forget that day to never forget the sacrifices made by so many for those that they didn't know so we'll never forget the innocent victims who lost their lives we'll never forget the good people that the good that they did for people people changed in a very positive way and that's what we look to have happen change change and help each other even though we disagree we have this patriotism and love of the country that was generated on that day and those those are the things that we can't forget never forget the example set by those police officers firefighters and First Responders and I'm very confident in saying that these men and women that serve today that I work with that they would step up to the challenges that those First Responders stepped up to that day we're committed to knowing that we may sacrifice our lives for others every day that we put our uniforms on there's so many stories of our fellow Americans sacrificing for themselves and I think we need to learn that lesson today we need more of that because there is definitely more in America that unites us than divides us and so we remember I'm honored to be here I'm honored to be part of this Timber Creek community this great community of Gloucester Township because the commitment that we have to never forget thank you [Music] for for Pur m maest above theed Fred [Music] God Shar his on and good with [Music] Brotherhood from sea to shining SE and Crown by good with Brotherhood from sea to Shining I am honored and truly privileged to be able to speak today I would like to thank all the staff at Timber Creek for having this Memorial ceremony every year to remember the tragic events that happened on September 11th 201 that day is forever seared into our all of our memories the pain the terror the tremendous loss but also the incredible displays occurred one of the first things you hear everyone speak about from September 11 2001 is how beautiful the start of the morning was there wasn't a single Cloud for miles in the sky perfect temperature and just one of them mornings that put you in a better mood no one could have imagined what would come next that would fill that once beautiful sky with nothing but tragedy and sorrow 23 years later and it's remarkable how many fine details we all remember from that day I still remember sitting in my third grade Home Room at JFK Elementary School in West Brin ready to start our day but instead of the normal Bell to start today there was an announcement that we would be having emergency assembly of course as a bunch of eight and nine-year-olds we thought it was a free-for-all and all the jokes and fun started to take over until my teacher walked back into the classroom where normally he would bark out threats to send us to the office if we kept misbehaving but not that day he slowly walked over to his desk sat down and when he lifted his head to look at the class we all seen the tears flowing from his eyes instantly a room full of eight and nine-year-old stopped in our tracks and quickly returned to our seats making sure not to make the quietest of noises of course at this moment we all thought it was something that happened to our teacher but when we made our way to the gym almost every teacher had the same tears flowing from their eyes and that's when we knew it was something big but the thoughts and even imaginations of my classmates and myself could never be as catastrophic of the reality that we were all soon to find out once all the students and staff were in the gym the principal wheeled in a TV and didn't say anything at all she just turned the news on and that's when we all seen for the first time the Twin Towers with massive holes in the side of them and the darkest of smoke coming out at first none of us really knew why everyone was so upset for two buildings on fire all the way in New York but the screen but then the screen shows that the Pentagon and walk with a banner across the screen that said our nation is under attack as we're all sitting there an entire School deadlocked on a small TV on a cart we watch live as a South Tower collapsed soon followed by the images of another plane crashing in Shanksville Pennsylvania and then finally the North Tower collapsing after this our principal returned to the TV turned it off and made the announcement that we'd be staying in our home rooms for the remainder of the day and we returned to class slowly we started to hear kids getting called to the office because their parents were picking them up that's when I heard my name and being an 8-year-old that I was I instantly forgot about the things I saw on the TV I got to go home and play like it was a day off from school and I couldn't be happier until the reality of the situation hit me like a truck my mom called me and my sister in from playing because our dad was on the phone and that's when he told us that he had resp respond to New York to help at Ground Zero I couldn't wrap my head around where my dad why my dad had to leave us and go all the way to New York to help why would he pick that instead of being home with us I would never get to my answer until I got in the fire service and had my sons so many years after that horrible day on September 11 2001 the actions of 19 repulsive coward hijackers took the lives of 2,977 innocent people of the lives lost six were law enforcement and 343 were firefighters who knew when they ran into them towers that they most likely weren't going to run out but they went anyway despite losing close to 3,000 people on September 11 2001 more people were successfully rescued than any other emergency operation in the history of the United States of America thanks to all of the selfless Heroes that day if you go up to any if you go up and ask any firefighter police officer you see if they would have done the same thing that day I can confidently say you will get the same answer from every single one of them and that's 100% without a single doubt when we wake up in the morning and kids our kids and spouses goodbye there's always that chance we may not come home but it's the risk we have to take to be blessed to do the greatest job in the world helping complete strangers on the worst days of their lives firefighters police officers weren't the only selfless people that day civilians of all Races religions and backgrounds risk their own lives to help complete Str strangers always remember the heroes who did ordinary things at extraordinary times So Others May Live is a quote from FDNY Battalion Chief Joseph feifer Joseph feifer was the first arriving Chief to the World Trade Center on September 11th and was the chief who gave all first arriving firefighters the order to go inside to begin rescuing people despite the horrendous conditions they were going to face among the first arriving firefighters was Lieutenant Kevin Fifer P Fifer's brother who was also given the order to enter the towers to do his job knowing that order may be the last communication he has with his brother he still gave the order because there's nothing that will stop a firefighter from upkeeping our oath to protect anyone in need and people like Chief feifer and all the members from the New York City Fire Department police department and Port Authority and the rest of the First Responders who gave their life that day are extraordinary examples of this when I was originally asked last year to speak I told Mr dealo he was crazy and I didn't do public speaking but then when I spoke to my little sister Natalia who was now a senior here she told me I had to do it seeing my Babys sister's eyes light up and hearing how proud she was I knew I was going how proud she was to know I was going to to speak made me Riz how truly important this is these annual ceremonies like the one we're having right now I'm sure that we will not forget what happened that tragic day the awful things that transpired on September 11th 2001 were important then but are even more important Now 23 years later as I stand here and speak to a school full of students who weren't even born yet please learn from the past and apply them going forward as wisdom that's what we all owed to the 2,977 people who never made it home that day and the countless friends and family members who had to learn to live with the holes left in their hearts that have a permanent scar that reach September 11th 2001 but most importantly these ceremonies need to be the annual reminder of September 12th 2001 that day the day that nothing else mattered but spreading love to fellow Americans and doing whatever you could to help a stranger with your expectations in return Unity that we displayed in the aftermath of the attacks highlighted the very best of the United States of America as a nation we demonstrated that our shared humanity is muddier than any force that seeks to divide us and was a perfect example of United We Stand and divided we fall because we came out of that tragedy standing taller than never so in my closing I ask one thing let us commit to honoring the memory of those we lost by living our lives with purpose by serving with integrity and by working together to build a future where such acts of violence are nothing but a distant memory and may we continue to honor those we lost by living with the same Courage the same strength and the same Dedication that they demonstrated that faithful day thank you the two flags Timber Creek proudly displays each year at our 911 ceremony are meant to memorialize the men women and children that were lost that Dreadful day the flag of Honor contains the names of those that perished in the World Trade Towers the Pentagon United flights 175 and 93 and American flights 11 and 77 the flag of Heroes contains the name of Emergency Services Personnel who gave their lives so that others could live we shall never forget them presenting jolia Miller with God Bless America God Bless America land that I love stand beside her and guide her through the night with the light from above from the mountains to the Prairies to the oceans white with [Laughter] fall God bless America my home sweet home God bless America my home sweet home [Applause] members of the Board of Education Dr RI principal mckeny faculty and staff here at Timber Creek and certainly students of Timber Creek High School good morning 23 years ago this very Morning America was attacked and thousands of innocent Americans lost their lives today we we remember them and their families students you are hearing a theme this morning that theme is of remembrance but that theme also is about responsibility you see we those of us who remember 23 years ago we remember what we were doing we remember what we saw we remember how we felt we remember the questions our children asked us it is our responsibility to hand that mantle of responsibility of remembrance to you as our future generation to never forget those police officers those firefighters those EMT Personnel our military members to never forget them and their families you know that very morning 23 years ago they put on their uniforms they got dressed for work they went to work never did they would ever realize that they would never return to their families that they would never experience the joy of their children graduating from high school that they would never walk their daughter down the aisle and that they wouldn't have have the luxury of celebrating great family accomplishment so today we remember them we remember Christine Hansen who was the youngest victim of September the 11th she was 2 years old she was on United Airlines flight 175 with her family going to Disneyland she did not get that opportunity to experience Disneyland we remember Robert Norton who was 82 the oldest victim of September the 11th who was on American Airlines flight 11 we have that responsibility to pass to you now and as I mentioned we remember so vividly that day my children were four and two at the time they don't really remember it and so when we had the opportunity several years ago to go up with our police department and the choose Landing fire company to receive beams like the ones you see behind us I took my children who were older then because I wanted them to understand the significance of this day and to remember I took them to JFK Airport where they had hangers Airline hangers full full of debris from 9/11 and this is well before the museum that is now in New York City we saw not only beams we saw buses that were crushed uh police cars trains fire trucks ambulances bicycles we saw debris from the airplanes it was so so surreal and I just wanted my children to understand the events of that day so that they can pass it on to their children and so to the Timber Creek Family I thank you so very much for hosting this remembrance ceremony it is so very very important to us as Americans and it is important to the families of those victims I thank you I'd like to Now bring up a us uh Air Force Major Robert Simpson a 20-year veteran of the United States Air Force good morning everyone I'd like to extend uh my appreciation to principal McKenzie and uh vice principal uh dealo for uh granting me uh this opportunity to speak and share with you uh my perspective uh related to uh 911 I just have a few words to pass on although uh not long I hope uh they may be memorable uh thanks for coming out today to solemnly commemorate a tragic date in our history a date much like December 7th 1941 that should live on in infamy today I will briefly touch on how we can use 911 to build a better Nation a better world if we all CH choose to do so uh but before I go on to that I just want to briefly paint a picture of that fateful morning as it applies to my life on that day on that date at 08:46 Eastern Standard time it was 0246 in Hawaii uh where I was stationed and I was just finished up a very late night of stud studying for a course I was taking uh the TV happened to be on and shortly after the events occurred on the East Coast programming was interrupted and I saw the first reports of a plane hitting the first Tower the North Tower I was transfixed and surprised and one of my first actions was to call the Pacific Air Force Headquarters Command Center my duty assignment at the time to ask if they had their TVs on they did not and when they turned it on they were just as surprised and jumped into action with event monitoring along with making and receiving phone calls I was also worried because I had friends who were flight attendant for the airlines that day involved and starting reaching out via calls and text if any of my friends were on those flights but all the lines were jammed going in uh to the east coast it took hours and I stayed up almost the whole night uh cuz as you remember it was 2:46 my time in Hawaii however after hours I did find out um no one was on their that flight but I did find out later the next day that one person I knew in passing okay on the flight uh was on the flight that was brought down in Shanksville Pennsylvania by the Valiant actions of the pass passengers of that aircraft that person was Leroy Homer Jr he was a first officer of Flight 93 an air crew member who I would come across occasionally in my duties as the assistant chief of the command post when I was stationed at Maguire Air Force Base uh in north New Jersey uh where he also served as a c141 pilot before he got out to fly for the airlines uh this was a shock a shock similarly felt by millions of Americans on that very uh fateful day 911 is the largest attack on American soil and it should always be remembered not just for the loss of life which was more than the attack on Pearl Harbor but for how it can be used to better the world this is where I now transition to how I believe it can be used as a teachable moment and not just a date to remember and ually tragic days such as 9/11 are usually born out of hate and uh principal McKenzie touched on that when she talked about the degradation of hate and I'll try to tie in how hate and also Unity applies okay and um it should not take a senseless tragedy like 911 to unify us all it is this hate that can drive men to kill thousands of Innocents who NE they never met but have been told to Hate by others that is hate but why what is the Genesis there are so many wars so much Strife across this globe that we live on because we're easy to hate and despise others with whom we may disagree and this prevents communication and any attempts at understanding which just leaves only the hate and to despise caricature to be built up that can be easily attacked for no reason as Educators we need to be building citizens of character that are informed curious and open to new ideas today we have students who do not read watch the news or research events they're not properly informed and definitely not curious such a person can be easily manipulated if they're left to remain in their silos of information such a person can be easily angered and become hateful and do tragic things like those um cowards as a chief related to them of flying planes into uh those buildings in the Pentagon that day if they're challenged on their views instead of talking about why someone else may have a different view we see this intolerance today on the internet and in our politics and it is a danger this lack of knowledge understanding and unwillingness to communicate leads to more isolation and hate if we have have citizens that are curious want to find out information and ask questions that can break through caricatures and hateful propaganda with questions and research of their own if they are just robots that do not question and utilize reason like those Pilots of 9/11 they can do terrible things I currently see online and in the news that danger of hate and the use of caricatures in our own politics if we choose to continue down this path I fear further division could lead to um senseless uh actions don't just gather to remember a tragedy gather to commemorate it but also learn and see how a tragedy can be used to make us better we don't need to just be unified after such tragic events we can do that um for the courageous men and women on flight 93 and the other victims of that day finally after 911 and the subsequent Wars that followed I started hearing a phrase I had not heard the first part of my military career I entered the Air Force in 1989 that phrase was thank you for your service well in closing I would just like to reciprocate service is not just defending the nation or going off the war service can be right here on the OM front where we are where you are acting as administrators and teachers preparing the Nature's future citizens of character we as soldiers Airmen Sailors and Marines will always protect a nation while you prepare your youth for their future protection and preparation are two types of service so for your past years of service in preparing this nation's future to the administrators and teachers seated before me I now say thank you for your service I hope you leave here today with a perspective that tomorrow's never promised as some speakers have led on to how hate can cause uh people to destroy and how every day should be cherished for it is after all every day you get up and see that bright sunshine the first day of the rest of your life so I'd like to say uh thank you remember 911 and God bless America and at this time I'd like to call up Miss Leslie Longo the class of 2025 September 11th is now known as Patriot Day and is considered a national day of service and Remembrance we owe it to those we lost and to the countless Heroes who ran toward danger that day to do everything we can to keep their memory alive please join me in a moment of silence to acknowledge the innocent victims of September 11th and the heroic Americans who responded with courage and sacrifice [Music] thank you everyone may they rest in peace I now present to you Mr [Music] dealo on behalf of administration I would like to take a moment to thank our community presenters and students for participating in our ceremony thank you for your Testament of personal experiences and reflection of this tragic event we are grateful for your leadership and commitment to serve our community Although our students at Timber Creek were not alive when 911 occurred it is my hope that this ceremony and Memorial are an everlasting reminder of our country's enduring strength resiliency and unity that was born out of this tremendous adversity our 911 memorial is a constant reminder to mourn the loss of thousands of innocent lives to pay tribute to the heroes who answered the call they risk and sacrificed their lives so that freedom can be enjoyed by all forever thank you and please rise for the conclusion of our ceremony and the playing of taps for [Music] thank you this now concludes our ceremony feel free to come down and uh get pictures by the memorial thank you [Music] [Music]