McHenry marks 9/11 anniversary by remembering fallen responders: ‘We must never forget’

McHenry will always host a Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony, at least as long as Mayor Wayne Jett is in charge, he said Wednesday.

“It is the seventh year that I have done it as mayor, and I know how important it is to remember 9/11,” Jett said, adding “it was one of the times we were all one” as a country.

[ PHOTOS: 9/11 remembrance ceremony in McHenry ]

The city of McHenry hosted its 23rd ceremony Wednesday at Veteran’s Memorial Park, one of a few held this year in McHenry County. The annual event is put on in cooperation with the McHenry Township Fire Protection District, the city and the McHenry Police Department.

“We honor the 2,974 individuals – civilians, first responders and military personal – that were taken from us in an act of terrorism that shook this nation to its core,” Jett said in his remarks.

“We saw our nation come together in a way that transcended our differences. We embraced one another as neighbors as friends and as fellow Americans,” Jett said. “While we live in a world that sometimes feels divided, let us remember the unity we felt in those days after 9/11. Let us strive and rekindle that sense of community and belonging in our lives today.”

Chief of Police John Birk noted that Wednesday provided the best weather for the annual program that McHenry may have ever had.

Birk noted that many more first responders – those who aided in the rescue efforts and cleanup following the fall of the World Trade Center’s two towers in New York City – have died from cancer and other illnesses since 9/11. He focused on New York Environmental Conservation Police Lt. David McShane, who died Jan. 23 from an illness related to his assignment at the World Trade Center and the toxins in the air released by the collapsed skyscrapers.

McHenry Township Fire Chief Rudy Horist spoke of New York Fire Department Battalion Chief Orio Palmer, who was able to get a service elevator working to the 41st floor and, while carrying 75 pounds of gear, climbed stairs to the impact zone on the south tower’s 78th floor. Minutes before the tower’s collapse, he still was directing responders and civilians out of the building. Palmer’s remains were never found.

“By just focusing on one example, it helps us to remember the sacrifice of so many,” Horist said. “It is something we must never forget, and I am very proud to be part of a community that will not forget.”