As we mark the 23rd anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, LAAPOA joins with the rest of our nation in reflecting on those tragic events that shook the world, and especially our law enforcement and aviation communities. We also mourn the thousands of lives lost as a result and honor the courage of our first responder brethren who answered the call to action, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice while working to rescue others. We will never forget the heartbreak and heroism of that fateful day, the effects of which continue to reverberate today.

The 9/11 attacks were a series of four coordinated hijackings of commercial passenger airplanes, all departing from airports in the northeastern United States and bound for the West Coast. Two of the planes crashed into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and the fourth, heading toward the nation’s capital, was diverted into a rural Pennsylvania field after passengers heroically overtook the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people died that day and double that number were injured.

In addition to being the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil, 9/11 was also the deadliest day for our fellow first responders, with 72 law enforcement officers and 343 firefighters and emergency services personnel killed. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department alone lost 37 officers, the most of any police department on a single day in U.S. history. But unfortunately, the death toll did not end there, as first responders and civilian volunteers who participated in the rescue, recovery, investigation and cleanup efforts at Ground Zero in lower Manhattan were exposed to a host of contaminants that caused many of them to develop deadly illnesses. We continue to lose heroes each year to the aftereffects of that horrible day, and the victims and their families have fought for decades to secure the financial compensation and medical support they need and deserve.

9/11 not only devastated our law enforcement family, but also had lasting effects on our profession. In the uncertain days that followed, officers across the country remained on high alert to protect their communities from the potential for additional attacks — and that was especially true for those of us charged with securing our nation’s airports. With the attacks highlighting previously disregarded vulnerabilities, the law enforcement and aviation security landscape was forever changed, with a renewed focus on counterterrorism. The passage of the PATRIOT Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration resulted in dramatic changes, especially to airport facilities and procedures such as baggage and passenger screening. These changes immensely expanded responsibilities for law enforcement, particularly airport police officers.

“While the passage of time threatens to blur or erase the vivid memories of 9/11 in the minds of some of our fellow Americans, our peace officers and especially our airport police continue to live with daily reminders of the need for constant vigilance and investment in our security infrastructure and personnel,” LAAPOA President Marshall McClain says. “This Patriot Day and every day, we will never forget those critical duties and what they mean for our communities. There is no doubt that, as horrific as the 9/11 attacks were, there would have been even more casualties without the brave heroes who put their lives on the line to save others. We remember with deepest honor all the victims and their families, along with the survivors who continue to suffer from the life-altering and frequently lethal health effects of the lifesaving work they did on and after September 11, 2001. We must do everything in our power to preserve their memories and prevent a devastating tragedy of this nature from ever happening again.”