19/09/2024
I waited a week to post . Needed to gather my thoughts & not sound like a babbling idiot. Yesterday 293 names were added to 9/11 Responders Remembered park. Those lost, that we loved, that we honored, and those that we have fond memories of. Last week we honored & remembered those that fell in the line of duty serving their country, their city, or just being great Americans. I’ve had the privilege & honor to work shoulder to shoulder with the world’s finest, the world’s best, & the world’s bravest.
I’ve also had the distinct privilege of knowing and getting to know some great Americans in the aftermath. Meeting thousands of honorable ironworkers, construction workers, civilians, among the widows and children of those that were lost.
Throughout the years I’ve tried to keep their memory alive. I’ve also had the distinct pleasure of gaining many brothers and sisters. I could talk about so many different groups but there’s only two groups that come to mind that I think I wanna focus on: 17th Security Forces Group & The Guerrillas. The Guerrillas were a group of ragtag civilians that gained my respect. Guerrillas came in all sizes and shapes and there was even a chair kicker among them (that’s an inside joke).
When it came to the men and women of the 17th Security Forces, I’ll never forget meeting them in December 2001 and it’s a relationship we’ve had since then. They’ve honored the memory of Carlos, Rodney, Ricardo and so many others.They’ve gone on missions taking mass cards, coins, stickers, and other memorabilia with them to remind other members of service serving overseas what they were fighting for.
It’s been a very, very long 23 years but it seemed like yesterday.
It seemed like yesterday it was September 10th where I got to joke around and laugh with people and do what most of us do on a daily basis - tell someone, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Yet, there’ll never be a tomorrow. I think of people like Jimmy, Maggie,Ginny,Cecelia and others who said goodbye to their spouses that morning, let their spouses go to work, only to never see them again.
I could name some of the kids but there’s so many to name I don't know where to begin. This is hard for everyone. Lord knows, I sit down and think about how hard it is for me at times & I’m nobody. Everytime I think things are rough I think of people like Ginny & Cecelia,who went to bed that night like Jimmy and Maggie & so many others. They went home and heard echoes because they were there alone. My heart just drops out of my chest. That’s when I tell myself I don’t have it bad but I need to be there for those that are really suffering. Stop being selfish, put your big boy pants on, get out there, and help. I think about friends of mine, some who have passed like Joe, some who are still around like Marvin, and I think about how sick they got.
I think about Sean,how he came from California to this small town, San Angelo, Texas, . How we made plans to drive back to New York. We were going back to September 10th. Planning for tomorrow, thinking about the future ,having fun & enjoying ourselves. Then fate came in & less than 8 months after he moved here that demon we call September 11th, came & took him. HIs illness just took him. Tanya & the boys fell into the same abyss that so many others did. Again, I didn’t know what to do. I still don’t know what to do. When I see Tanya I give her all the love and care in the world that I can. When I talk to the boys, it’s the same thing. When the men and women of security forces go out on deployment I’d try to make sure we’d have an employment dinner. I try to make sure that I’m there for the families. I don’t want this to come out or seem like I’m discussing my struggles. I really want everyone to understand all the struggles. Everyone’s struggles.
This is such a complex web of feelings, emotions, and lives. It’s so hard to keep track of yet throughout all of this all of us have one thing in common: we have a bunch of angels in heaven. Whether it be fire, EMS, DOD, civilian, etc. We have these angels that kinda give us hope for a better tomorrow. Someday we will go back to the way things were on September 10th. Some days we’ll go back to the way things were on September 12th. I just pray we never go back to any day that is September 11th again. To the men and women of the 17th Sfs: it’s been my honor, it’s been a privilege, I will still do what I can, and as much as I can. To the men and women of this great family of ours from that fateful Tuesday: I will always do what I can, as much as I can, and even when I can’t I will find a way to get it done. I think I’m gonna end this now because I don’t wanna babble. I just wanna honor & pay my respects to those we miss and love. Rosendo Rosey Velez will always remember…..
SEMPER FI
