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• Friday, September 10, 2021

  9/11 Anniversary Reminds Us of the Sacrifices We Make for Freedom

  

  Frank LaMarsh

  Each of us has a searing memory of Sept. 11, 2001, when hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Pennsylvania countryside.

  One of mine was the sudden realization that I now understood what my parents’ generation felt when Pearl Harbor was attacked, propelling us into World War II. It weighed on the whole country, bringing Americans together in spirit – just as it did 80 years later as the nation watched in shock the disaster unfolding at the World Trade Center towers. It propelled us into a war on terror.

  I am so grateful to our American Legion Family across the Department of New York that is participating in remembrance ceremonies on the 20th anniversary of 9/11. The Legion Family continues to support and express gratitude to our post-9/11 veterans and the men and women wearing our country’s uniforms.

  To all our veterans and their families — thank you for your sacrifice and service, which safeguards our freedoms.

  America is not just the land of the free and the home of the brave; it is the land of the free because of the brave.

  For God and Country
  Frank LaMarsh, Commander
  Department of New York

  

  Shot of ground zero from 60 Wall Street after the World Trade Center was hit. In Commander LaMarsh’s own words: “I was at 60 Wall St. about 3 blocks from ground zero. My team and I stayed in the office for the week to keep JPMorgan Chase’s Data Center functioning. I was in my office on the 9th Floor having my weekly staff meeting when the first plane hit.”