This week marked the 23rd anniversary of 9/11, the day terrorists attacked the United States on four fronts.
In a remembrance held at Firefighters’ Memorial Park in downtown Syracuse, Fire Chief Michael Monds asked the dozens of men and women dressed in their formal blues, to never forget the sacrifices more than 300 fellow firefighters made that day and the unexpected bond that followed the next day across the country.
“We unknowingly united with strangers and how we learned to unintentionally learned to love each other on September 12th. We all claimed love over hate,” he said.
New York Fire Lieutenant Dave Fullam remembers all too clearly. He was working in the Bronx while his brother, Martin Fullam, had the day off and raced into the crisis to help with the rescue.
“It was a morning just like this and I just remember talking to the firefighter sitting saying ‘This is a great day, we should be out on the course.’ You know, since then, I used to love the fall, I used to love the weather, and uh, it’s all changed now. A slight breeze can trigger something,” he said.
Martin was a Lieutenant for Staten Island’s Fire Department. Dave said he developed lung disease from breathing toxic debris during the rescue missions and died 12 years later in 2013.
Fullam asks that we never forget his brother nor the nearly 3,000 souls lost on September 11, 2001.