LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Chief Jason Wells hopes that people never forget what happened on September 11, 2001, but also remember the day after.
“…On September 12, our country came together in a way we never saw before. I also want us to remember the unity and resolve of September 12 and carry that forward as well,” he said.
Ceremonies, like the one here, took place all over America, and for those here, it’s an important way of making good on a promise we all made 24 years ago.
“It’s so hard to imagine that it’s been 24 years,” he said. “We’re now hiring people who were not born yet on that day, so it’s really incumbent on us to make sure that we continue to carry the lessons of that day forward."
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton discussed her son, who was then a member of the U.S. Army.
“They were all tasked with going to the Pentagon to help recover bodies,” she said.
Chief Wells was a recently promoted Lieutenant 24 years ago today, who said the atrocities of that day only reaffirmed his career choice, while making him more aware of the hazards associated with the job.
“343 firefighters went to work that day with no expectation that they would not return home to their families. So, we have to be very conscientious that what we do is an honor, but it's also very dangerous. We don't take that for granted anymore,” he said.
Students from Lexington’s Hub of Innovative Learning walked over from school to see the ceremony. None of them were alive when this happened in 2001. But they’ve been learning about it. And in case they need a reminder, retired Fire Chief Bob Hendicks remembers it vividly. He was with Georgetown’s department at the time.
‘I know it had a profound effect on me and my family, and likewise, I think it did for every single person who knew about it,” he said.
