09/11/2026
🇺🇸 SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 | NEVER FORGET 🇺🇸
Twenty five years later, we still remember the ones who ran toward the danger.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, our nation was attacked. In the middle of unimaginable chaos, thousands of first responders did what they had been trained and sworn to do.
They answered the call.
They did not know how the day would end. They did not know what they were walking into. They only knew that people needed help.
Firefighters climbed the stairs of the World Trade Center carrying heavy equipment while civilians were trying to make their way down.
Police officers rushed toward the towers.
EMTs and paramedics moved into the chaos to treat and evacuate the injured.
Port Authority officers worked to get people to safety.
Court officers and other emergency personnel answered the call.
They ran toward a danger that everyone else was trying to escape.
And for hundreds of them, that decision would be their last.
🕯️ REMEMBERING THOSE WHO MADE THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE
343 FDNY members
37 Port Authority Police officers
23 NYPD officers
8 private EMTs and paramedics
3 court officers
1 New York Fire Patrol member
That is 415 people represented in these New York City responder categories alone.
At the Pentagon, another 55 military personnel lost their lives while responding to the attack.
These were not numbers.
They were people.
They were mothers and fathers.
Husbands and wives.
Sons and daughters.
Brothers and sisters.
Friends and coworkers.
Partners who had families waiting for them at home.
Every one of them had a life outside of the uniform.
Every one of them had someone who expected to see them again.
And then September 11 happened.
But the story did not end when the towers fell.
Thousands of first responders, recovery workers, volunteers, and others were exposed to the toxic dust and hazardous conditions at Ground Zero. They spent days, weeks, months, and even years working in the aftermath, searching for survivors, recovering remains, clearing debris, and helping New York begin to rebuild.
Many became sick.
Many are still sick.
And many have died.
The FDNY has now lost 453 members to illnesses related to the World Trade Center response and recovery, surpassing the 343 FDNY members who were killed on September 11 itself. More than 10,000 FDNY members are currently certified with a 9/11 related physical health condition. (NYC Government)
That is the part of September 11 we cannot allow ourselves to forget.
The sacrifice continued long after the smoke cleared.
For some families, September 11 became something they experienced every year.
For others, it became the day they lost someone.
And for thousands of first responders, it became the beginning of a lifelong battle with illnesses caused by the very place where they went to save others.
They answered the call because someone needed help.
They did not ask whether the person was a stranger.
They did not stop to calculate the risk.
They simply went.
That is what service looks like.
That is what courage looks like.
And that is what we mean when we say Unsung Heroes.
Today, Unsung Heroes Colorado honors every first responder who gave their life on September 11, every responder who became sick because they answered that call, every family who lost someone they loved, and every survivor who continues to carry the memories and scars of that day.
We remember the names.
We remember the families.
We remember the sacrifice.
We remember those who ran toward the danger.
And we remember those who continued serving long after the world moved on.
🇺🇸 Twenty five years later, their sacrifice still matters.
🕯️ Their names still matter.
🇺🇸 Their stories still matter.
And we will never forget.
