7th moment of silence added to 9/11 commemoration ceremony in Lower Manhattan. Here's who it will honor.
During this year's commemoration ceremony in Lower Manhattan to mark 25 years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, a new moment of silence will be added for those who have died from 9/11-related health effects.
Needless to say, the decision to do so holds great meaning for those impacted.
New moment of silence for those with "courage" and "compassion"
For the past 24 years, there have been six moments of silence, recognizing when the World Trade Center towers were struck and when each fell, as well as the attack at the Pentagon and crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
This year, there will be another moment of silence, a seventh bell that will toll for the thousands lost to 9/11-related illnesses.
"It's incredibly important to acknowledge the people who rushed to help, who had the courage and the compassion to respond and to stay and to help and who lived in the community around us, who survived the collapse of the towers and suffered from that afterwards, too," 9/11 Memorial & Museum President and CEO Beth Hillman said.
It's deeply personal for John Feal, a 9/11 first responder and tireless advocate, but it also carries on a promise forever made to never forget.
"I cry on the other six, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry on the seventh," Feal said. "It's going to remember those that we lost. It's going on to honor those that are suffering and sick right now and it's gonna ensure that those who are still battling in the future and pass away, that they're never forgotten."
"9/11 didn't end on 9/11"
Standing in the shadows of where the twin towers once stood, Bridget Gormley reflected on the bravery of her father, Firefighter Billy Gormley. She said for him and many like him, "9/11 didn't end on 9/11."
"My father responded to ground zero on 9/11, was down here for probably about three months, survived the day, but then got diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2016," she said.
He died the following year, inspiring his daughter to produce the film "Dust: The Lingering Legacy of 9/11," which documents the dangers on the pile and beyond.
"It's not like 9/11 was a day where it was instantaneous and done. After, it's this lingering effect that's a dark cloud over a lot of people's shoulders," Bridget Gormley said.
And now, the many like her father who died from the health effects of 9/11 and its aftermath, will be honored this Sept. 11 and every one going forward.
