City of McHenry remembers 9/11 first responders, civilians killed in attacks

While McHenry has had a 9/11 ceremony ever since the 2001 terrorist attacks, many other towns have discontinued them after so long a time.

Mayor Wayne Jett does not see that ending for his community.

“It is a very important day to remember ... for their service,” Jett said, speaking of the first responders who were killed when the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed, as well as the civilians killed.

On that day 22 years ago, hijacked planes flew into the north and south towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and into a field outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

A total of 2,977 victims died that day, including 343 New York firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York police officers, and 37 Port Authority officers.

On Monday morning, city officials, members of the McHenry Police Department and the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, their department chiefs, and residents gathered at Veterans Memorial Park to mark the anniversary.

McHenry Township Fire Protection District Chief Rudy Horist echoed Jett’s sentiment

“Not every city still does a ceremony. My point isn’t about what they do or don’t do, but it is part of what I love about living in this community. Here we don’t forget,” Horist said.

The death toll among New York firefighters that day makes that day “the Pearl Harbor of my generation,” Horist said.

“We reflect on how we as a nation responded to 9/11; how we showed each other and the world what we were capable of, even in our darkest hours.”

—  McHenry Chief of Police John Birk

That toll is still mounting. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 6,314 people have died since that day from the aftereffects of the terrorist attacks. Those deaths are a combination of first responders at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as well as other survivors.

A total of 125,494 people have enrolled in the federally supported World Trade Center Health Program, set up to monitor the health of those who responded to or lived and worked near the New York site, according to the program’s website.

McHenry Chief of Police John Birk talked about one of the deaths that came 21 years later: that of New York Police Department Captain Janelle Sanders, who died from cancer linked to 9/11 toxin on Sept. 11, 2022.

“This continued loss of life is a stark reminder that we are still paying the price for the actions that unfolded on 9/11,” Birk said.

The reminders are even more important to share with the younger generations who were not born until after the attacks, or who were very young when they happened, he said.

“After 22 years it can be difficult to remember the feelings we all experienced after 9/11,” Birk said.

“Today is the day we take time to remember and share our memories. We reflect on how we as a nation responded to 9/11; how we showed each other and the world what we were capable of, even in our darkest hours,” Birk said.