Sharon remembrance honors courage, unity of 9/11

SHARON — The 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, brought out stories of courage, heartbreak and hope.

Those who gathered at the Sharon Volunteer Fire Department’s remembrance ceremony heard from Todd Anderson, a firefighter who vowed to help others when he heard about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center towers.

A member of the fire company at the time, he and a fellow firefighter from another department decided to travel to Manhattan on Sept. 13. “Those were our brothers and sisters trapped in that rubble,” he said.

While there was much tragedy to confront, Anderson also spoke of the kindness they encountered that day. They left from the Wassaic, N.Y., train station, and when the conductor learned they were going to help, he said there would be no charge for the trip.

Arriving at Grand Central, they followed some New York City police officers, who showed them to a bus headed to Ground Zero.

“When we got a few blocks away, we changed into our work clothes and walked to the site,” remembered Anderson. “They welcomed us with open arms and no questions asked. Out of respect for the victims, I won’t describe what we saw at the makeshift morgues.”

After their last task, a police officer drove them back to Grand Central in a cruiser, with lights and sirens blasting. “I thought that was remarkable that he’d do that for us.”

Becoming emotional, Anderson said, “If you could make anything good from it, I’ll always remember the thousands along that route thanking us. I thought that kind of unity for a common good was a special thing to see.”

He concluded by advising those in the audience to hold their loved ones close. “We all know tomorrow is never promised.”

Brian Ross, who was ABC News’ chief investigative correspondent and worked alongside anchor Peter Jennings that day, also spoke at the event.

“Because it was such a beautiful day, it made it so much worse,” he said.

ABC News staff members monitored the hospitals, waiting to hear about injuries, but few survivors arrived.

“That day we looked into evil men who had no regard for human life,” said Ross, who is also a board member of The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News.

He said what he remembers today is the bravery displayed by the first responders and the courage of those on Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.

“We saw the resilience of our country. We remember the fallen, salute the heroes and say proudly, ‘Good bless America.’”

Opening the ceremony, Fire Chief Brian Moore said, “Today we remember the compassion and unity felt in the aftermath that binds us all in our nation.”

The Rev. Anna Camphouse prayed for the community to practice compassion.

Fire department member Tom Bartram read “A Fireman’s Prayer” and asked for two minutes of silence for those who perished and those who continue to die from illnesses caused by exposure to toxic air at the site.

The event ended with a reading of the names of the 343 firefighters, 60 police officers, eight EMS workers and one police dog who lost their lives that day.

Following the ceremony, Sharon resident Roger Liddell spoke about his experience on Sept. 11.

He was at his office two blocks from Ground Zero when he heard a ghastly boom that reminded him of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. He looked out the window and saw what appeared to be a blizzard, with papers blowing out of the windows of the North Tower.

“I was so traumatized because I knew the widow of my college roommate, Gail, worked in a law firm on the 65th floor of the North Tower,” he said.

He walked 6.5 miles home and couldn’t bear to call her cellphone and hear her cheerful voice on the answering machine.

“Finally at 10 p.m., I couldn’t wait any longer and made the call. Amazingly she picked up, sobbing.” She had seen the first plane coming and, recalling her experience eight years earlier, followed the escape route.

“She was in the staircase when the North Tower was hit,” said Liddell. “Ten to 15 minutes later, the building collapsed.”

Sharon lost one resident in the attacks: Christoffer Carstanjen, a 1985 graduate of Sharon Center School and Housatonic Valley Regional High School. He was 33 when United Airlines Flight 175 struck the World Trade Center’s South Tower.