Next week marks the fourteenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the thwarted attack that left 44 dead in a field near Shanksville when a group of heroes took on three hijackers.

                Nearly 3,000 people died on the day of the most deadly terrorist attack on United States soil.  Many more died in the weeks, months and years after, of deadly ailments attributed to the attacks.

                Fourteen years isn't that long, and we promised to "never forget" September 11, 2001.  But, how many people have?  It seems that, as each year goes by, there are more people who have forgotten or never heard of the horrible attacks.

                Perhaps delivering a word of remembrance from Sunday's pulpit or Friday's lectern to remind people of the horrible attacks and the 3,000 who died; a reminder to send a thought or a prayer to the families torn apart from the mental and physical wounds that many victims still carry.

                It's easy for the non-caring to bark, "It was fourteen years ago; get over it."  They don't understand that yes, people are "over it."  The children who lost parents are adults now, but caring about the victims should never be over.

                With the killings, riots, political discourse and other events in our country over the last few years, one might try and block all the bad things that happened from their minds.  But, once it's history, it's too late.  You can refuse to remember, but it still happened and people are still hurting.

                The events following the attacks were brought a little closer to home when the volunteers of the Milford Township Fire Company brought a 1962 Ford utility truck that once served a New York fire department, to their home in Bucks County in 2002 to turn it into a moving memorial to the 343 New York firefighters that died on September 11.  Funds were raised by the volunteers and the truck was remade into a fitting memorial that will once again make the trip from Milford Township to downtown Manhattan next week.

                The truck was owned by FDNY firefighter Eric Olsen of Ladder 15.  Eric was killed when the North Tower fell.  The memorial, Engine 911, will be parked in front of the fire station that houses Engine 4 and Ladder 15 on South Street; about eight blocks from ground zero.

                On one side of the truck are the names of each of the 14 firefighters from Engine 4 and Ladder 15 who died on September 11, 2001.  On the other side are the words, We must ensure that future generations will be able to read their names, know what they did, appreciate their heroism, be inspired by their sacrifice, and ensure that they are designated as role models.

                While close to the World Trade Center memorial, most firefighters, survivors, friends and families choose to attend memorial services at their individual firehouses.  The formal site of the memorial services is just eight blocks away, but it has become a mecca for politicians each Sept. 11 that's shied away from.  The firefighters, instead, hold four moments of silence for their fallen comrades who ran in when others ran out.  They mark the times when both towers were struck and when both towers fell. 

                The events following the attacks were also brought closer to home when a large section of steel, that once helped to hold up the World Trade Center, was brought to the home of American Legion Post #184.  On that site in Palm and using that section of steel as a centerpiece, Legion volunteers created a beautiful and moving memorial.

                It is a place where local volunteer firefighters gather with Legion members and the public to pause and remember that "all gave some – some gave all" that day in 2001.