On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed, 400 were police officers and firefighters, in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in NYC, at the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., and in the United Airlines Flight 93 crash near Shanksville, PA. that targetted our nation’s capital.

I had the opportunity in my late teens to visit the twin towers in May of 1993 shortly after the first terror attack on the buildings on February 26, 1993, in a bombing that killed 6 and injured over 1,000 people. Over 50, 000 people were evacuated from the towers by first responders in the ’93 bombing. I recall feeling nervous on my visit to New York City as the subway train stopped in the World Trade Center mall. When I got off the subway train I saw the boarded-up garage, some broken and boarded-up windows, and smoke damage throughout the basements of the buildings that were being repaired. I recall seeing and speaking with several police officers in the station and the underground mall. I noticed the resolve among the people who worked there to smile and stay positive. It was evident that the police officers in the building gave them a sense of security and comfort. I admired and embraced the determination of American’s to press on. I too felt comforted by the police officers in the mall who were very friendly and I got the opportunity to meet and speak with several officers that day. I bought a postcard in the gift shop there with a picture of the towers and I put it on the wall in my room.

Eight years later, on September 11th, 2001 evil returned to the city and across our nation when the towers were brought down, when the Pentagon was attacked, and when Flight 93 went down. I was a police officer in Texas on the day of the terror attacks and one of my co-worker’s nieces was on flight 93. I was hurt, angered, and outraged as so many Americans were on that day and the days, months, and years to follow. Our nation and the role of policing were forever changed.

I recall reflecting on my visit to New York in 1993 and thinking that many of those police officers I saw on my visit may have lost their lives but I would never know for sure. I remember thinking that I hadn’t taken the time to ask their names. They were just people I met in passing much as we all do every day and there wouldn’t be a reason to do such a thing but I just couldn’t help but think about that. We don’t always recognize the impact that “people” have on our lives. What I do know and will forever respect is the realization that what I witnessed in 1993 was the role that police officers had in the healing process, the sense of security and comfort that they give us, and the resolve that acts of heroism can build that go unrecognized. I also realized just how small the world was and how close we were connected. I may not have realized how meeting those officers in 1993 may have in part inspired me to serve as a Police Officer a few years later. I always knew that I wanted to serve in a profession that would heal others and I may not have recognized the lesson they taught me at the time. I kept the postcard of the twin towers in my patrol hat until the day I retired from patrol a few years ago. It reminded me every day of the role and responsibility I had in the healing and comforting of others even if I went unrecognized or remembered and that is ok. It reminded me of my commitment to stepping up and why I am driven to run toward the things that people run from.

The first responders in the towers, those that worked in the station, in the mall, and across the city all ran toward the buildings to save lives. There are so many examples of tragic events in which Guardians run toward danger to save lives. It might be an active shooter, a domestic disturbance, or a robbery that we commonly see video of on the news. The first responders in the 9/11 attacks didn’t run toward a gunfight. Those brave men and women went into an inferno with a common goal of saving lives and healing those who were injured and I am certain that many of them had done it before in 1993.

Every time I see an officer standing at a post or sitting in a car, I think of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. Those Guardians stand ready and they are the reason that Americans can press on, feel safe, go back to work after a tragedy, and sleep at night. Most people will never remember who they are in passing or in conversation and they won’t take the time to ask what their names are.

I went back to New York a few years ago to visit the site and although it was somber, it certainly reinforced my commitment to serve and to do all that I could to honor my fellow Guardians at every opportunity. I took the picture above in the subbasement of the towers in the same location I visited in 1993. It has been twenty years since the 9/11 attacks on our nation and we must all commit to continuing to inspire good people to serve, we need to honor those who served, and more importantly, we need to honor those who do it today. Good people step up, they come together and their actions build the resolve that we need to heal, be comforted, and allow us to press on. We need to acknowledge these Guardians at every opportunity because they deserve to know that what they do matters and that we do see them. Make no mistake about it, evil is real and there are people who intend to harm our way of life. Evil will only succeed if it divides us from these Guardians. There are noble Guardians who stand ready to protect us, they run toward the things that others run away from and they don’t expect you to remember them. It is who they are. Guardians hold those who harm us accountable, they ensure our freedoms, they help us get closure, and they are the reason we feel safe enough to go back to our way of life after we are harmed. They are healers.

Let us never forget the families and victims of the 9/11/2001 attacks, let us never forget the survivors of 9/11/2001, let us never forget the Guardians who stand ready.

The Patron Saint of Police is the Archangel Michael and it is quoted in several books and bibles, “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.”

As we reflect on why we are free we must remember that our freedom comes at a price. Our country has lost hundreds of thousands of military servicemen and women since the American Civil War. These guardians paid the ultimate sacrifice in service while safeguarding our country to ensure the freedoms we enjoy. We wish to pay our respects and honor the memory of the fallen this Memorial Day.