WHAT HAPPENED TO “NEVER FORGET 9/11″?
WHAT HAPPENED TO “NEVER FORGET 9/11”?
My greatest fear is that as each year passes, many Americans have forgotten what happened on September 11, 2001. Nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens lost their lives to evil. The hatred for America, and for each of us because of who we are and what America represents, lives on.
According to a shocking new study, we have failed to educate an entire generation since those attacks: two-thirds of American Middle East studies professors say college students cannot identify who attacked the U.S. that day or why. Only Arizona and Florida require public schools to teach the true history and facts of 9/11. Ten states have statutes that encourage teaching about the attacks, which can include a moment of silence, classwork, or a school assembly, according to the August 2026 University of Wisconsin study.
“We made a promise to ‘Never Forget’, but today only a handful of states require 9/11 to be taught in their schools,” Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Long Island) said. He has proposed legislation to mandate a 9/11 curriculum in all 50 states. For his comments and more details from the NY Post, click here.
First responders searching for victims at all three 9/11 crash sites, as well as personnel who later processed the crime scenes and sifted through hazardous rubble, were relentlessly exposed to carcinogens. According to the CDC, they were exposed to smoke from scorched jet fuel, toxic dust clouds containing lead, mercury, asbestos, and cadmium, along with a mist of sulfuric acid and other corrosive gases that lingered for months. In the years since 9/11, cancer cases have continued to rise, with 57,044 cases now documented. Officials warn the true tally could be even more grim.
No agency publicly specifies the 9/11-related illnesses still killing people, other than cancer. The tally of those who have passed away now exceeds the number murdered that day! A staggering 5,892 first responders and people who lived and worked near Lower Manhattan’s Ground Zero have died from cancer caused by the toxic air alone. Overall, according to the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, as of July 31, a shocking 9,677 first responders and survivors have died of illnesses tied to 9/11.
The devastation from the attacks in Lower Manhattan did not end on September 11 for members of the New York City police and fire departments. This week, NYPD officials dedicated a new 9/11 Memorial Wall at its headquarters. The One Police Plaza wall includes 469 new names, commemorating NYPD heroes who have died from Ground Zero-related illnesses. This week, firefighters buried the 453rd FDNY member to die from related illnesses, surpassing the 343 heroes who died on that day. Not to be overlooked are the untold numbers of non-first responders; hero civilians who survived the attacks only to be stricken with various related illnesses. Among the affected civilians are former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and ex-Governor George Pataki.
Individuals who responded to the Pentagon and Pennsylvania crash sites were exposed to toxins similar to those in New York City. While exposure was on a smaller scale, personnel have developed cancers and filed claims with the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund. However, comparable statistical tracking for fatal long-term cancers specifically attributed to those attacks is not separately detailed in aggregate totals. Official tracking and long-term health registries focus overwhelmingly on the New York City site because the exposed population was vastly larger. Click here for details.
We may never know the total number of victims stricken by 9/11-related illnesses from all three crash sites because they are not tracked. One thing is certain: the numbers already far exceed the initial casualties. There will be many more victims.
It’s hard to imagine 25 years have passed since the September 11, 2001, tragedies in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. If you’re interested, you can read my recollections and reflections here.
Please never forget the 2,977 victims who died that fateful day. Never forget the sacrifices of the first responders and civilian heroes who gave their lives to save their fellow citizens. Never forget the heroes whose exposure to the hazardous debris ruined their health—it just took years for the terrorist attacks to take their toll. Never forget the families and friends who lost loved ones.
Never forget the sacrifices of the thousands more motivated by the attacks to serve their country.
In my universe, it is worth reminding people not to forget America’s darkest day, and important to educate future generations about 9/11 and its aftermath.
Never forget.
