Growing concern about forgetting 9-11

There is a growing concern that as time passes, people will forget the 09-11-2001 terror attack. For those of us who were there, the memory is tattooed upon our souls. To “never forget” is not an act or a choice. It will always be there for us, whether we want it to or not. It comes back as a foggy nightmare or a vivid flashback. The perfectly blue sky washed out in gray smoke and white dust. The blue plastic tarps where we put the human remains.

Several thousand New Yorkers killed. They did nothing more than go to work that day and they were murdered. The cops and fire fighters who gave all their tomorrows for the people they had sworn to serve. Yes, we remember.

After those first few hellish days that we spent at Ground zero came the weeks and months that followed, when as detectives we were responsible for recovering and identifying the dead from the wreckage. Most of us can’t or won’t talk about it. Those who can, should. In a gentle, respectful manner, we can tell or remind those who weren’t there what it was like.

Those who were not down there can never see, smell, and feel the horror and devastation we experienced or remember it the way we do. We can’t expect them to. If we want the world to never forget, then it is up to us carry on the legacy. To tell the tale of the evil people who would do us harm. Of the horrors and the massive loss of life. And to tell of the courage, faith, and sacrifice of the men and women who rose to answer the call to help. These things need to take their place in history. We will honor those who fell.

Detective Malcolm Reiman

Bronx Homicide Squad

NYPD- Retired