Remembering My 9/11

'Oh my god',
'I am sorry but I have to go to work now',
'Tell your aunt that I love her and i'll be home when I can',
'I love you and I always will, I am very proud of you and always will be',
'I will see you again soon',

Those were the final words that my uncle ever had the chance to say to me, you see he was off duty on September 11th 2001 but his department needed him, his city needed him, and most importantly, his country needed him. I can also make note that the three people that he saved that day also needed him. My 2 uncle's and one cousin gave their lives on that day in order to put other's lives before their own. All of my family members and the thousands and thousands of other people there that gave their lives or risked their lives on that fateful day are heroes to me and the rest of the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, I write this with a heavy heart as this marks the first time that I have ever shared some of my most personal moments from that day with anyone. I have a hole in my heart and a void in my soul that cannot and will not ever be filled. I have seen hell on earth and in the face of that hell I seen the absolute best that humanity and this country has to offer. Understand that this was not a time for petty quarrels or hatred for anyone, this was a time for America to come together and do whatever was necessary in order to help your fellow man. In the face of hatred and evil one thing emerged that the terrorists didn't count on, what emerged was a stronger, more unified America that came together despite their attempts to tear us apart.

On that day we as Americans and more importantly as human beings were taught a harsh lesson one that was supposed to stay with us everyday, all the time, 24/7, 365 days a year. That lesson was that if we fail to be a strong and united country that becomes less vigilant, tragedy and evil will in fact capitalize and it is up to us to combat it. We were given one task and that was to never forget the tragedy of that day, to never forget the loss that we suffered on that day, to always always honor and cherish the memories of all that were lost on that day. We were given the task of always honoring all of our men and women in the armed forces, our police officers, our firefighter's, and all of our EMS workers. We were given the duty to always hold the tragedy of 9/11/01 close to our hearts and honor that day all the time and not just on the anniversary of the event. We as Americans owe it to all the victims and true heroes of that day to always hold their sacrifice and their acts of heroism close to our hearts always and without exception.

September 11th 2001 is more than a Hollywood movie, it is more than a conspiracy theory it is a day where some of us experienced a loss so great and so close to our hearts that it is nearly impossible for us to even talk about it. On that day I and thousands of others suffered more than ever thought imaginable. All of us as Americans are responsible for never letting the pain and the memory of that day fade away from our hearts and minds.

We owe it to ourselves to always remember the fight to combat this evil that continues this very day, despite what your political affiliations and despite internet rumors we must always remember that our men and women in the military put their lives on the line every single day and they command our respect and admiration. Just remember where you were and what you said on that day in September, remember the emptiness and the hurt that filled your heart and soul on that day and use that to remember why we fight, use that feeling to remember why our soldiers spend every day in harms way, our soldiers don't have the option to disagree and sit this fight out, they don't have the luxury playing partisan politics, they have a job to do and it is the most important job imaginable, do you know what it is? It is the mission of keeping all of America safe at home. They fight to protect our freedom of speech, our freedom of religion etc. They fight so that we as Americans may never again see a day like September 11th 2001. We owe them our respect and our undying gratitude and admiration.

We also owe our president a great deal of respect as well. Whether you like or dislike president Bush is absolutely irrelevant. One thing that must always be remembered is that president Bush put our safety and security first and foremost and since that tragic day we as a country have not suffered another event like 9/11 and for that I and everyone else should include him on our list of thanks.

Ladies and gentlemen that I am opening my heart to please understand that some of us can never forget the lessons that we learned on that day, some of us have used that tragedy as a guiding light to hopefully do some good in this world in which we live. All that I am asking is that you look at 9/11 with open mind and an open heart. dispel any senseless internet rumors and slanderous movies, if you want to remember what happened on that day just simply look at all the news-stations tomorrow and when they play the clips of the tragedy over and over again understand that, that is what truly happened on 9/11, there was no inside jobs, their was no preconceived plan,what happened was evil at it's most truest and purest form and we lost thousands and thousands of great people in just a few hours. Remember that feeling you had in your heart when those brave firemen raised the flag at ground zero, remember the feeling you had in the pit of your stomach when you watched millions of people from all around the world come together and come to our aide, remember the thousands of us who became rescue workers at ground zero by volunteering ourselves to do whatever we possibly can in order to help strangers. friends, co-workers, fellow Americans. Remember the feeling of patriotism that filled your heart's on that day and the weeks and months that followed that day. We must never lose that feeling, we owe it to ourselves to once again come together as a nation and a people and to put to rest the petty misconceptions and foolish conspiracy theories that have surfaced about 9/11. We are Americans, we are better than that.

In closing, I never had the chance to say goodbye to my uncle's or my cousin on that day. Like so many other's we buried empty caskets in the ground. I cannot even begin to talk about the sights and sounds that I personally experienced on that day, my heart drowned in a sea of tears. I and many others still feel that hurt, that pain every single day. All that was ever recovered of my family that perished on that day was a badge, a shield of duty and justice. To protect and serve, what a powerful and meaningful statement. Their unyielding sacrifice is what I can never forget. When everyone else is running out, few are running in, their loyalty was to the people who they took an oath to protect. Their job was to put everyone else's well being in front of their own. That sacrifice and the everyday sacrifices warrant us to never forget all that 9/11 was.

To my family in heaven, know that I am doing my very best to honor you and to preserve your memories every single day of my life. Though I never had the chance to say good bye I know that you are with me all the time, I only hope to bring some good to this world and to my part in helping anyone and everyone that may need my help. All of you are my inspiration and my reason for doing what I do. I love you all and I thank you from the bottom of my broken heart, I long for the day that I will be able to see your faces again and to thank you (My heroes) for all that you did. I spent thirteen weeks looking for you uncle ray, Alan and Ryan even though you were all standing right next to me. It is my sincerest hope that no one will ever tarnish yours and everyone else's memory. A street sign doesn't do any of you justice, all of you are my strength and reason for everything. One day I will share your stories with the world in the meantime I will always keep you all close to my heart. Uncle Ray, I can only hope that I am still making you proud. Goodbye my heroes.

God Bless

Daniel Smeriglio