sergeant brian steele of the columbus
division of police was invited to speak
at the september 11th remembrance
ceremony
held at veterans memorial in downtown
columbus on september the 11th 2021.
the time of the attacks in new york
sergeant steele was a resident of new
jersey
and a marine corps veteran
from his place of employment
he was able to look to the sky and see
the aftermath of what occurred earlier
that day
here is his speech
[Applause]
thank you for having me on this most
solemn of days
i want to talk about shock waves
ripples of energy
there was literally there was literal
shock waves on this day 20 years ago
planes hitting towers
a crater in a farmer's field in
shanksville pennsylvania the collapsed
side of a building
there was also mental shock waves
as the towers collapsed even the news
anchors couldn't process with their eyes
what they were witnessing
and they struggled to describe such an
implausible scene
we must grapple with the notion that
somebody would jump on their own high
atop a tower
either an inexplicable calculation that
it was the best chance of survival or
simply determined to go out on their own
terms
we groaned collectively as a country
with questions
are there more attacks
who is responsible and simply why
and then came the emotional shock waves
children hand making missing signs
hanging them up on poles hoping beyond
hope that their loved one would come
home
there was candlelit shrines of
firehouses and police precincts for
firefighters and police officers who ran
into buildings when people were running
out
witnessing the parades through the lines
of first responders as bodies were
recovered moved from the rubble at
ground zero
now on this 20th anniversary there are
college-age adults without first-hand
experience
living through that time
it is our responsibility to share that
memory to make it live on
and make no mistake shockwaves can
travel down through history too
the first responders
unfurling the flag at the pentagon
members from all parties of congress
singing god bless america on the evening
of september 11th
president bush's bullhorn speech
these examples of national unity
resonate even today
but also decisions made
rippling forward that's my story on
september 11th
i was a 20 year old 22 year old new
jersey kid just ended my list in the
marine corps
and attending community college in a gi
bill
i was working two jobs on a morning
september 11th i was helping my
construction crew build a deck
when we heard the breaking news on the
radio the homeowner invited us in to
watch the events unfold on tv
a few moments later we drove up a hill
in the neighborhood and we could see the
smoke from the twin towers
we could hear and see fighter jets
overhead
it was a war zone immediately
i heard on the news that all personnel
should return to their bases and i
quickly contacted my command by the time
i learned the attacks in washington
pennsylvania i was on my way to
picatinny arsenal which was the nearest
reserve center as ordered
because my list was coming to an end
that i was in school they sent me home
pretty quick
being in new jersey in northern new
jersey in those days was surreal
the train station lots were littered
with unclaimed cars that became shrines
to the fallen
i attended a funeral for a family friend
seth morse who worked at canada
fitzgerald him and his company was
completely wiped out
i knew i had to act
my plans of joining the family business
were put on hold
my military service translated into work
as a first responder
by early 2012 i now i began what is now
a 20-year career as a police officer
what i did is not unique
people joined the military people joined
the fire people joined the police
services
across the country there was an
outpouring service done in positive
response to death and destruction
that's the ripple effect of september
11th
out of the shock waves of these horrible
attack a generation of first responders
were formed
people dedicated to public service
people who answer the call of duty
people who are still running towards
danger just as our brothers and sisters
of nypd fdny port authority and many
others did and continue due to this day
i read once the best way to honor those
lost in september 11th is to live each
day like it's september 12th
if that means living a life of service
amen
let those ripples continue down history
never forget
if you're old enough to remember share
the memory
if you're too young to remember ask
carry the histories and lessons of
september 11th forward
and everyone be proud of those in
uniform because we serve in the shadows
of the first responders on september
11th
[Music]
you