(The Republican/MassLive) – It has been 21 years since Robert Harrington has seen or been able to talk to her daughter, who was 31 when she was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, but sometimes he can still hear her voice.
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State Rep. Kelly Pease, R-Westfield and State Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, who have both served in the military, talked about the sacrifices all the first responders continue to make every day even after so many were killed in the terrorist attacks and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq after and thanked Westfield for going above and beyond to remember the victims of the tragedy.
Men and women are still signing up to serve the country. Police officers are still running toward bullets when everyone is running away and firefighters are still entering burning buildings to save people and property, Velis said.
But the one good thing that came out of the Sept. 11 tragedy was the unity it created in the country for some time.
In some ways Velis said he would like to go back to Sept. 12, 2001 when there were American flags flying everywhere. “There were no Democrats, there were no Republicans, it was all one nation under God.”