Local community gathers to remember lives lost during 9/11

MEDIA, Pa. - On the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, community members and local leaders in Delaware County gathered Monday to remember the lives lost. 

The ceremony, held at Rose Tree Park in Media, included a moment of prayer and reflection. Two wreaths were laid near the 9/11 memorial for the nearly 3,000 lives lost and the first responders who bravely ran towards danger.

The phrase "Never Forget" often accompanies each passing anniversary of 9/11. District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer believes it's important to teach those born after 2001 how monumental and life-changing the events that unfolded on 9/11 were.

"It's very important that we do this every single year to remember the people we lost and to remember why they fought back," Stollsteimer said. "There's a whole generation of people who have grown up after 9/11 - people like my 17-year-old children - and we have to remind them what this means and what we fight for."

Those who do remember the attacks often recall the outpouring of togetherness and service that followed in the wake of a historic tragedy. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon from Pennsylvania's 5th District touched on those bittersweet emotions Monday. 

"I will always cherish the way our community and our nation came together to support each other and support those who’ve lost loved ones in the attack." Congresswoman Scanlon said. "We truly were the United States of America in the days, months, and weeks that followed 9/11, more than two decades later it still feels like yesterday."

Some hope the lesson of unity shown after the nations worst tragedy resonates in today's more divided political and social climates. Jack Colombo, who served in the Navy, became emotional reflecting on 9/11 and called on the country to unite.

"We can all get together, we're all born the same, don't divide us, divided we fall," Colombo said. "America's greatness comes from our ability to come together in support of the core national values we hold dear - fairness, courage, integrity and most of all community."