The events of that day, like the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, changed the course of history.
Now eight years later the U.S. remains engaged in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They were wars that were launched to root out terrorists that would strike U.S. soil again if given the opportunity.
The initial attacks took a toll and it is rising. More than 2,600 Americans died that day in 2001 in New York, Washington D.C. and Somerset County, Penn. Nearly double that number of U.S. forces have since died in fighting in Iraq.
National Guardsmen from the Richmond County area are stationed in Iraq now, and for many it’s their second tour. These men and women weren’t drafted into service. They volunteered with the knowledge that a year-long deployment to hostile foreign soil was part of the package.
Soldiers aren’t the only group protecting us. Since 9/11 local emergency responders like policemen, firemen and paramedics have been playing an ever larger role in the bigger picture of protecting Americans.
People like Patrolman Victor McQueen of the Rockingham Police Department.
This week McQueen was honored for doing what many New York City police and firemen did on that day eight years ago. He put his own life on the line to save another human being.
In May, McQueen rushed into a burning apartment in the Pineridge complex and pulled a man out to safety.
“He did it without regard for his own safety or with any safety gear on,” Police Chief Robert Voorhees said.
The award and the timing of 9/11 wasn’t lost on Councilman John Hutchinson noted the parallel between McQueen’s selflessness and that of the officers of the New York Police Department and Fire Department.
“It’s good to know that we have police officers who care that much about protecting us,” he said.
It’s something we shouldn’t take for granted. Like the soldiers who are defending us aboard, there is another class of hero that is defending us here at home each and every day.
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