09/11/2026
25 years. And yet, some memories never fade.
September 11, 2001, isn't a day I remember from television or from stories told afterward.
I was there that day, and in the months that followed.
I remember every site. Every smell. The taste in the air. The haze. The images. They are permanently ingrained in my memory.
At the time, I was four years into my military commitment. My unit was stationed approximately 20 miles from the World Trade Center, and I was also an EMT.
I remember getting the phone call.
I remember packing my bag and driving down a desolate, nearly empty New York State Thruway.
I remember being on the pile at Ground Zero.
I remember being shifted to Fort Totten, where I stood and saluted for hours as remains were brought to the chapel.
Those aren't stories that were told to me. They are memories I carry.
In the aftermath of September 11, my service continued. I spent the next two years deployed in support of our nation.
Today, that commitment to service is still part of my life. I serve as a firefighter, continuing to give back to my community.
I will never forget the events of that day… As much as I sometimes try.
There are things I wish I didn't remember so clearly. Things that 25 years haven't erased.
But when I think about September 11, I also make a conscious effort to remember what came next.
I try to remember the country as it was on September 12… A country united.
A country where strangers helped strangers, communities cared for one another, flags flew everywhere, and what divided us seemed insignificant compared with what brought us together.
Twenty-five years later, I remember those we lost. I remember those who ran toward the devastation. I remember those who served in the days, months, and years that followed. And I remember all those who continue to carry the physical and invisible effects of that day.
I will never forget 9/11.
But I will also never stop trying to remember 9/12.
Today, I will not be in the office.
Today, I will put on my uniform. I will stand alongside my fellow firefighters, and I will reverently remember those who lost their lives that day.
For me, today isn't a business day. It isn't simply an anniversary on the calendar. It is a day to remember people, places, moments, and experiences that have remained with me for 25 years.
May we never forget their courage.
May we never forget their sacrifice.
May we never forget those who continued to suffer and those we have lost in the years since.
And maybe, in their honor, we can remember a little more about who we were on 9/12.
Never Forget.
Brandi Ware
