Remembering 9/11

There is not a single American adult alive today who can’t tell you where they were on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Everyone has a story.

Everyone remembers exactly how they heard that an airplane had hit one of the Twin Towers. Everyone can recall the exact spot in which they stood when they realized that it wasn’t an accident, which coworker was in the cubicle next to them when the television showed the towers falling. Everyone has a story, that day is engrained in our collective consciousness.

The nation has marked the occasion every year since with memorials for those who lost their lives in New York City, Washington D.C., and in Pennsylvania. The anniversary means different things to different people. Some have called for Sept. 11 to become a national holiday, some wish it would pass by with as little fanfare as possible.

Ten years later, we are able to reflect on that day, for perhaps the first time, with enough distance and perspective to see a little more clearly, to remember those we’ve lost, and to look forward to where we all go from here.

Officer Kerry Troy works for the Gulf Breeze Police Department. He has a long family history of service with the police department; his father and sister have both served. Before he came to Florida, he spent more than 20 years with the New York Police Department and he happened to be on duty in downtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001.

What he saw and experienced on that day and in the weeks and months afterward would change him, and help define his purpose going forward.

For more on this story, see the September 8 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.