09/12/2026
๐บ๐ธ NEVER FORGET โ SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
For me, September 11th has never been just another date on the calendar.
I was a junior in high school, sitting in study hall, when I watched the towers fall. Like millions of Americans, I watched something unfold that I couldnโt fully comprehend at the time. But I knew our countryโand my generationโwould never be the same.
After graduating high school, I joined the United States Marine Corps. When I reached my first unit, I immediately volunteered to deploy in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The events of 9/11 left a lasting mark on the direction of my life, just as they changed the lives of countless Americans. For thousands of families, the loss that day was immeasurably greater.
Nearly 3,000 people went to work, boarded airplanes, reported for duty, or simply began an ordinary Tuesday morning and never came home.
But I also remember what happened afterward.
Americans stood together.
We prayed together. We flew our flag proudly. Strangers helped strangers. First responders ran toward danger while everyone else was running away. We werenโt consumed by all the things that divided us. For a moment in our history, we remembered that we were one nation, under God.
Twenty-five years later, I believe thatโs something worth remembering too.
If you were old enough to remember September 11, 2001, think back to that day. Remember where you were. Remember the Americans we lost. Remember the firefighters, police officers, service members, first responders and ordinary citizens who demonstrated extraordinary courage.
And remember how this country came together afterward.
Never forget them. Never forget what America can be when we stand together.
Live proudly.
Live courageously.
Help your neighbor.
Stand for something bigger than yourself.
And never take for granted the privilege of calling yourself an American.
๐บ๐ธ WE WILL NEVER FORGET. 9โข11โข2001 ๐บ๐ธ
โ Rocking Speer Ranch, LLP