HERKIMER – Students, faculty, dignitaries, firefighters, and police officers gathered outdoors at Herkimer County Community College’s Veterans Memorial today to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, honoring the nearly 3,000 lives lost and the first responders and service members who answered the call in the years that followed.
The ceremony included a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m., the exact time the first hijacked plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center in 2001, observed by the assembled crowd of students, community leaders, and emergency personnel.
HCCC President Dr. Terri Grates Day opened the event, telling attendees that whether they remembered September 11 firsthand or knew it only through family stories and history lessons, its lessons “belong to all of us.”
Day recalled being at Jefferson Community College in Watertown when the attacks occurred, and shared three lessons she said she has carried with her since: never take people or time for granted, that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary courage and service, and that decisions can carry consequences far beyond the moment they are made.
Day pointed to the response of police officers, firefighters, medical personnel, military members, and counselors from across New York who traveled to help in the aftermath without asking whether it was their responsibility to do so.
She also invoked the phrase “Let’s roll,” associated with Todd Beamer and the passengers of Flight 93, as a symbol of ordinary people choosing to act in extraordinary circumstances.
“Courage is not the absence of fear,” Day said. “It is choosing to do what is right despite the fear.”
Day closed her remarks with a challenge to the crowd, asking whether the lessons of September 11 would be carried forward “through our actions, our service, and the way we care for one another, right here in Herkimer County and across the Mohawk Valley.”
Day then introduced Mike Jory, HCCC’s Director of Campus Safety and Mayor of the Village of Herkimer, who also addressed the crowd.
Jory reflected on how, in the days after the attacks, the divisions that often separate Americans seemed to fall away, replaced by neighbors helping neighbors and communities coming together.
He said that spirit remains just as important a quarter-century later.
“Here in the Village of Herkimer, we are fortunate to live in a community where people continue to step forward to help one another,” Jory said, citing the village’s first responders, veterans, educators, and community organizations.
He encouraged attendees to carry forward the values inspired by those lost and those who served on September 11: service, sacrifice, courage, compassion, and unity.
Jory also thanked President Day for organizing the day’s Moment of Remembrance, saying such events ensure future generations understand not only what happened on September 11, but how Americans responded.
“May we never forget,” Jory said. “May we always remember. And may we always strive to be a community worthy of the sacrifices made on that September morning.”
The ceremony was among many held across the country today as the nation marked the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
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