Never Forget.
Those two words have become synonymous with September 11, 2001 — a day that forever changed our nation and our world. Twenty-five years later, they carry an even greater responsibility.
For those of us who lived through that terrible morning, the memories remain vivid. We remember watching the World Trade Center towers fall, seeing smoke and fire rise from the Pentagon, and learning that United Flight 93 had crashed in Pennsylvania after brave passengers fought back against their hijackers.
We remember the firefighters, police officers, emergency workers and ordinary civilians who ran toward danger while others ran from it. We remember the thousands of innocent people who lost their lives that day — and the thousands more who have died in the years since from illnesses connected to the attacks.
But we also must remember something else: the extraordinary unity that followed.
American flags appeared on homes and storefronts. Strangers comforted strangers. We mourned together, prayed together and found strength in one another. For a moment, the things that divide us seemed far less important than the things that unite us.
Today, a new generation is growing up without personal memories of September 11. For many young people, it is a date in a textbook — another event in American history.
It must be more than that.
Our schools have an important responsibility to ensure that the lessons of September 11 are not lost to time. Teachers should help students understand not only what happened, but also the human stories behind the tragedy: the lives that were lost, the families that were forever changed, the first responders who sacrificed everything, and the courage displayed by ordinary Americans in extraordinary circumstances.
Teaching September 11 is not about creating fear or division. It is about teaching history, courage, sacrifice, resilience and the importance of standing together as Americans and providing evidence that this country has come together at the most important times in our history.
On the 25th anniversary let us come together to remember, to honor and to teach the next generation why September 11 must never become simply another date in a history book and what America looks like when pride rules over the noise of the divisive news organizations and social media platforms.
Twenty-five years later, our obligation remains the same: Never Forget.
God Bless America.
County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) has served as Suffolk County Executive since 2024. He previously served as a Suffolk County Legislator representing the North Fork from 1986 to 1989 and again from 2005 to 2012. He served as Suffolk County Clerk from 1989 to 2005 and as Brookhaven Town Supervisor from 2012 to 2023.
