By John McNamara NBPoliticus
A full contingent of New Britain’s first responders appeared at Central Park on Friday morning to observe the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Shanksville, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon.
The remembrance included a somber reading of names of first responders who died at the attack on the twin towers — 343 FDNY Firefighters, 37 Port Authority Police officers, 23 NYPD officers, eight EMS Paramedics and EMTs, three State of New York court officers, one New York Fire Patrolman and one FBI special agent. They were among 2,977 killed at the twin towers on that Tuesday morning in New York.
Remarks from Veterans Commission Chair John Buckley, New Britain Police Captain Anthony Butkiewicz and Mayor Bobby Sanchez followed the playing of taps and the tolling of the bell for the moments the hijacked planes hit the towers. The Rev. Michael Casey, Pastor of Saint Francis Catholic Church and Rev. Dr. Jonathon Counts, Pastor of Spottswood AME Zion Church provided opening and closing prayers.
“Everyone’s life was changed on this day 25 years ago. It changed the trajectory of lay people’s lives, veterans, first responders, families and friends were all affected by this,” said Buckley. Captain Butkiewicz said the 9/11 attacks that occurred when he was in high school led to his answering the call to service by joining the U.S. Army and becoming a police officer.
Mayor Sanchez, in his remarks remembering and honoring the lives lost and the heroism of first responders, noted that Scott O’Brien, a 1979 New Britain High graduate, was among the 161 individuals with ties to Connecticut. O’Brien, 40, was the father of two, a Little League coach and a Brooklyn New York resident. He grew up on Westwood Drive in New Britain. Mentioning the impact on a New Britain family reminded me of how close to home the terrorists’ acts hit for anyone living in the tri-state area. I was working at Capital Community College that morning when the news came on the computer screen. In the days that followed 9/11 we learned about family members of acquaintances and colleagues in Greater Hartford who were missing, including Wethersfield’s Richard “Dick” Keane, an Executive Vice President at Marsh & McClennan and the husband of Capital Nursing Professor Judy Keane. In Wethersfield, Keane’s family and the community established the Keane Foundation that built the 9/11 Sports Center and continues to support youth development and enrichment programs.
At Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) on Saturday, September 12, History Professor Matthew Warshauer led a presentation and discussion on “What Does 9/11 Mean, 25 Years Later?” In the years following 9/11, Warshauer taught a course every year on the catastrophic event 25 years ago that spawned the Global War on Terrorism and so much of what has occurred for better or worse in international and domestic politics ever since. Warshauer’s book, “Creating and Failing the 9/11 Generation: The Real Story of September 11” is a product of his classes and is a thoroughly researched and valuable account of what occurred before, during and after the acts of terrorism at the start of the 21st century.
In 2026 9/11’s harmful consequences continue to surface with the release of information that the ash and debris at the WTC were long lasting despite official assurances at the time that it was safe to work or live or go to school in the area around Ground Zero. That is a troubling sign that government at all levels ignored victims, survivors and the public.
“Since 2001, exposures to this material have claimed more lives than were lost in the attacks,” says a September 11th report in Governing Magazine. “More than 2,700 lives were lost in New York City on 9/11. Since then, more than 8,000 first responders and survivors suffering from illnesses related to toxic exposure — like lung cancer, blood cancer or respiratory illnesses — have died.” The World Trade Center Health Program issues regular reports on the high incidence of cancer and ill health for first responders and all who were exposed to the air and debris.
The refrain and resolve in New Britain and elsewhere on Friday were that the nation “will never forget” despite the passage of a quarter century. Although not a national holiday, 9/11 became a day of service and unity called “Patriot Day: A National Day of Service & Remembrance.” Whatever it is called it should be a day every year that keeps bringing people together to honor the lives lost, to support the survivors and to serve the community.
.John McNamara is a Ward 4 Alderman and the Common Council Majority Leader
NB Politicus 