BY BILL MANNING
At that unspeakable moment on September 11, when it seemed all hopes and dreams were vanquished in an impossible collapse of steel and concrete, the fire service had its most devastating yet finest hour.
In the choking grip of death and destruction, as the handiwork of hatred threatened to vanquish the innocent and the good and our cries pierced the blue morning sky, the fire service conquered all, lifting up an entire country.
That morning and afterward, the brilliance of firefighters rose up through the ashes of defeat and despair.
Your hearts have been held up for the world to see. The world does see, and America is so proud.
The death planes pierced the occupied towers and the hearts of every man, woman, and child in America. And we were stricken to the point at which our hearts nearly broke apart. And still we weep. Still we mourn.
But even as the smoke and dust lay thick in lower Manhattan, we knew of your sacrifice. We knew how you stood your ground and fulfilled the sacred trust with the whole world coming down around you, unflinching, true to your last breaths. We saw the terrible aftermath as the smoke lifted a little and saw that you were at work despite the fear and the panic, despite the loss of your brothers. And in the days after, in the bowels of hell, where dark days and eerie nights collided in one interminable nightmare of broken bones and twisted steel, we saw you digging through concrete mountains, searching their grim secrets for signs of hope, for signs of life, your jaws set with determination, your fingers bloody, your feet raw. We saw you volunteer for duty, grieving yet ready, rushing in to help a crushed and reeling city, shoulder to shoulder, passing buckets, raising flagsblood brothers.
And we knew: As you dug and as you cried, every firefighter in America and the world dug and cried with you. The world knew then: Your heroism echoes through the ages, affirming the deeds of firefighters past and lighting the way for future generations. You are an army of heroes, united.
You are the seed of hope we water with our tears.
The seed grows, day by day. America will come back, stronger, as will the fire service itself. For we know the selfless brothers who perished at the World Trade Center will live on in the hearts and minds of firefighters across this country, immortalized by your daily acts of courage and sacrifice that symbolize all that is great and good about our nation. They live on, my friends, borne on the wings of your greatness. And that brings a sweetness to our bitter tears.
They areand will always bealive in you. Thank God.
