By Nick LaLota
On September 11, 2001, I was a young naval officer aboard a ship on the other side of the country, nearly three thousand miles from home. My shipmates and I had returned to our homeport just eleven days earlier after a five-month deployment to Southeast Asia. Like every American, we watched the unimaginable unfold. But I watched it as a New Yorker.
My thoughts immediately turned to home — to the police officers and firefighters running toward danger, and to the innocent people trapped inside the Twin Towers.
I am the son and grandson of police officers. In my family, we know that when others run away from danger, cops and firefighters run toward it. It’s more than a profession. It’s a calling rooted in patriotism, selflessness, and duty. On September 11, thousands of first responders answered that call without hesitation. They climbed the stairs while everyone else was trying to get out. Many never came home. Many others survived only to spend the next quarter century battling cancers, respiratory illnesses, and other illnesses caused by their service that day.
September 11 changed my life — and the lives of everyone who served alongside me. The attacks transformed the military from a force preparing for future conflicts into one engaged in a global fight against terrorism. Many of my Annapolis classmates and my brother went on to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq. I would later deploy twice more myself, including a final deployment supporting counterterrorism operations in the southern Philippines. From that day forward, the meaning of service took on an even deeper significance, reminding all of us that freedom carries a price and that there are Americans willing to pay it.
It has also shaped how I raise my three daughters. They weren’t alive on September 11, but they deserve to understand it as more than a date in a history book. They should know the stories behind the names engraved in stone, the families whose lives changed forever, and the ordinary Americans who showed extraordinary courage when their country needed them most.
That same responsibility guides my work today. Remembering September 11 isn’t only about honoring the past. It’s about protecting the future. On the Homeland Security Committee and in Congress, I remain committed to strengthening our national security, supporting law enforcement, standing with our intelligence and military professionals, and ensuring America is prepared to confront the threats of tomorrow.
But “Never Forget” means more than preventing another attack. It also means keeping our promises.
We must preserve the memory of those we lost. That’s why I have fought to support the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, so future generations understand not only the scale of that tragedy but the lives behind every name.
And we must stand by those who answered the call. The first responders who rushed into the smoke and chaos that morning never asked what it would cost them years later. Too many are still paying that price today. I helped secure funding to strengthen the World Trade Center Health Program because caring for those heroes isn’t charity — it’s a solemn obligation.
Twenty-five years later, the grief remains. So does the gratitude.
We honor those we lost by remembering how they lived. We honor those who answered the call by keeping our word to them. And we honor future generations by remaining vigilant in defense of the country they loved.
I have not forgotten.
I never will.
Nick LaLota (R-Rocky Point) serves the 1st U.S. Congressional District in New York.