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Twenty-four years after the devastating events of September 11, 2001, America still pays tribute to the nearly 3,000 lives lost and reflects on the ongoing impact.
A new generation gains insight into that pivotal day in American history through the accounts of those who lost loved ones, including the brave servicemen and women who responded to the collapse of the Twin Towers, and through shared stories at memorials nationwide, particularly in New York City.
“We have been going to the firehouse every 9/11 since that day,” said Patrick Dowdell, an Army veteran and son of Lt. Kevin Dowdell, an FDNY firefighter who perished 24 years ago, in an interview with Fox News Digital.
Patrick Dowdell and his brother, James, honor their father’s memory, who passed on September 11, 2001, by serving in the U.S. Army and the FDNY.
“In the city, my brother serves with other firemen whose fathers were also killed on 9/11,” Dowdell said.
Today, current and former FDNY and their family members are invited to Rescue 4 to remember the firefighters lost that day.
Dowdell, a skilled bagpiper, performs at each Memorial Service, marking key moments: 8:46 a.m. for the first plane’s impact on the North Tower, 9:03 a.m. for the second plane’s impact on the South Tower, 9:37 a.m. for the crash at the Pentagon, 9:59 a.m. for the South Tower’s collapse, 10:03 a.m. for Flight 93’s crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and 10:28 a.m. for the North Tower’s collapse.
Every year, the Dowdell family gathers for a family dinner, sharing one thing they are grateful for and a memory their husband and father, Lt. Dowdell, would have cherished from the past year.
“In those moments, we always remember him and we talk about him all the time,” Dowdell said. “My kids know who grandpa Kevin is and how he passed away.”
