“Have you seen my daddy?” read the 9/11 poster

“Have you seen my daddy?” read one of the countless posters that I passed daily after September 11, 2001. ?In this instance and with a heavy heart, I realized that my colleagues and I actually had.?Earlier that week, while working alongside FBI forensic examiners in the make-shift morgue to identify victims’ remains, we had identified fingerprints extracted from this unfortunate father. Walls and walls of similar posters were plastered across the city from families who clutched every last shred of hope that their loved one may have miraculously survived the crashing twin towers.?This particular boy was robbed of his father because of the al-Qaeda terrorist attacks.?

For several months after this heinous act of terrorism, I supported operations with the morgue trying to bring some level of closure to these families and friends with identification and forensic technologies.?Now 20 years after that tragic event, my experiences there will forever keep me grounded and dedicated to the mission of National Security.

I recall my first night in New York, driving through the eerie emptiness of that great city.?Two nights after the attacks, we walked through Battery Park and saw victims’ families who had gathered for a candlelight vigil, holding hands and praying.?All at once, the crowd began singing a heart-wrenching version of Amazing Grace.??Between the verses, you could have heard a pin drop.?Faces were marked with grief, but there was also a clear sense that faith in God and Country would get them through this difficult time.?No words can describe how surreal the atmosphere was that night.?

On my first trip to Ground Zero, I was issued a hard hat that remains one of my favorite possessions. Inside was a hand-written note that read, “To the good person who wears this hard hat:?Thank you for your hard work to help a lot of people and for being a good citizen.?We appreciate that you are risking your life to help others.?We are sad about the tragedy, and we hope there will be peace.?God bless you and God bless America.?Sincerely, Mrs. Short’s 3rd Grade Class at Chautauqua Lake School Mayville, NY 14757.”?

I witnessed so many acts of heroism during that time, but none as great as that exhibited by the NYPD and FDNY.?As I was installing latent fingerprint technology for the NYPD, officers and first-responders shared countless experiences too powerful and horrific to share.?Many of these will be forever etched in my mind.?I pray for the behavioral health and ongoing trauma recovery of those heroes, and I commend them for their bravery on that day and the many days that followed.

As a country boy from West Virginia, I had not traveled a lot before 9/11.?But in September 2001, I saw the power of human kindness to prevail against tragedy and hate to unite a city as expansive as New York.?In the years since, I’ve been fortunate to work with so many dedicated and talented people – at the FBI, the White House, across industry, and across the world - to strengthen our national security apparatus.?

On this 20th Anniversary, we can never forget the tragedies and the heroism of 9/11.?We must remain vigilant to the threats facing our country, but we must also remember the incredible power of the American spirit.?So much of our rhetoric is polarized these days, dividing families and communities and our nation as a whole.?I wonder if it’s even possible that we could unite as a nation the way we did 20 years ago, but we must try.?We owe it to our lost brothers and sisters and all the families who lost loved ones during those tragic days.?Our unified strength is our greatest asset.

God bless this country and all of our allies.?