It has been 5,258,880 minutes since 9:59am on September 11, 2001.  It was on that clear, crisp, perfectly blue skied Tuesday September morning where blood from all nations was spilled on American soil for the first time since the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.  My city, our nation, and everyone’s world was irrevocably changed.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
-Thomas Jefferson

It has been 10 years.

The blood of patriots has spilled for 10 years.

The blood of tyrants has spilled for 10 years.

10 years that blood has refreshed the tree of liberty.

Today is about remembering the conscious sacrifice made by one for another in their greatest time of need without regard for race, creed, or political beliefs.  Today is about remembering those who sacrificed 10 years ago and those who have sacrificed since then to keep the tree of Liberty alive and well. Today is about remembering that while all sacrificed some… there are those who have sacrificed all.  I ask that you remember this today and leave everything else for another time.

It has been 5,258,880 minutes since the South Tower of the World Trade Center at Liberty Street and West Street collapsed. I ask that you specifically remember the following nine Emergency Medical Service Responders who perished in that collapse: