‘Never forget’: Salisbury community marks 25 years since 9/11

SALISBURY, Md. — Twenty-five years ago today, acts of terrorism shook the United States to its core.

Nearly 3,000 people were killed in attacks across multiple states, changing life in America forever.

Twenty-five years later, community members and the Salisbury Fire Department gathered to honor those who lost their lives and remember the heroes who stepped up in the aftermath.

For Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor, remembering 9/11 also means reflecting on the emotions that remain 25 years later.

“I think many of the emotions that many people feel today are the emotions they felt then, you know, it’s not going away easy, you know?” Taylor said. “So it’s a pretty big event for our history. You know, we’ve never really been attacked on our homeland like that. And, so it’s, it’s great that we get together and I can remember what happened and, you know, lessons learned and and appreciate those who sacrificed”

The Salisbury Fire Department marked the 25th remembrance of 9/11 with a ceremony, including 25 rings of the bell — one for each year since the attacks.

Chief David Meienschein said remembering 9/11 also means honoring those whose lives were changed long after the attacks.

“Those whose lives were forever changed by what they saw, what they breathe, and what they carried home that day. We must remember the thousands who came afterwards. Those who searched, rescued, recovered, rebuilt, and refuse to let their fellow Americans behind.”

For many, remembering 9/11 starts with remembering where they were when they first heard the news.

Salisbury Fire Department Chief Rob Frampton was working as a seasonal firefighter and EMT with the Ocean City Fire Department and was at training with the state fire marshal’s office when the attacks began.

“On 911, I was actually working for the Ocean City Fire Department as a seasonal firefighter EMT and, we were at some, farm training, with the state fire marshal’s office. I remember standing around with my partner, we were just there in case something bad happened, and, their pagers and phone started ringing, and it’s like, man, what’s going on?”

Frampton said they were soon told something terrible had happened.

“We’ve got something terrible has happened in New York. Looked at my partner. I’m like, well, I guess we’re head back to the to Ocean City Fire headquarters.”

He said crews then worked to prepare for whatever might come next.

“We up staffed our stations for the next few days, and, just kind of waited to see what was going to happen.”

Sen. Mary Beth Carozza was working at the Pentagon for then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld when the attacks began.

“We were meeting, when the first plane, hit the twin tower. So we started to monitor that, thinking there might be something behind it. When the second plane hit, we in the Pentagon knew that we were under a terrorist attack.”

Carozza said the Pentagon itself was struck soon afterward.

“It wasn’t until we were outside of the Pentagon and turned around because it’s, you know, such a massive building and the plane hit on the other side that we saw the smoke, and we saw the fire and we knew we had been hit by the terrorists.”

She said the events that followed became a moment of service for those inside the Pentagon.

Carozza recalled seeing firefighters on the roof of the Pentagon continuing to battle the fire into the early morning hours.

“It wasn’t until about 1:00 in the morning, I wanted to take a walk around the entire Pentagon and go to the place where the plane hit and looking up, and I watched, those fire fighters on the Pentagon roof fighting their hearts out, battling that fire.”

Carozza said more than 20,000 people returned to work at the Pentagon on Sept. 12, something she said demonstrated the resolve of those who had been attacked.

Twenty-five years later, she said the anniversary has caused her to reflect on the enormity of the attacks and the people who stepped up to serve.

“With the 25th anniversary of September 11th, I think what has struck me the most is the enormity of the event on America and on so many people’s lives.”

Carozza said that reflection includes the “unsung heroes” of that day, including firefighters, flight attendants and members of the military.

“We all have a part and a responsibility to serve and to protect our country and we can do it in different ways. I think that’s also what the September 11th remembrance services are all about.”

As leaders reflected on the attacks, they also remembered what happened in the hours, days and weeks afterward — when communities across the country came together.

Frampton said that unity is one of the things he remembers most.

“I still can vividly remember that day, and today’s ceremony is about, you know, reminding people that they never forget. Remembering the unity, in the hours and days and weeks afterwards that the country and the local community, experienced and I really, I look back on those days and, in that sense of unity and that’s just, just fills me with a lot of pride.”

For fire officials, remembrance is also about making sure younger generations understand what happened. Frampton said about one-third of the population was not alive in 2001, making it important to pass those stories on.

“Just making them aware of, of just, you know, the the terrible actions of that day, the ultimate sacrifices that people made, and just making people aware that that at that, that time, like and even up to today that there are people willing to sacrifice their life for others.”

Meienschein said the tragedy also showed how Americans could come together despite their differences.

“Americans came together in ways we had not seen in generations. Differences that once seemed so important suddenly seem as much smaller than the things we now share. We stood together at that time. We cared for one another, and we recognized that despite our differences, we are all Americans.”

Twenty-five years later, those gathered in Salisbury say remembering 9/11 is about honoring those who were lost, recognizing those who served and carrying the lessons of that day forward.