Bob Martin’s “9/11 Remembered: Twenty Years Later” Explores Heroism Amid Tragedy

On September 11th, 2001, nobody will ever forget hearing the news about two airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center; or learning that our nation was under attack. 

In the midst of all this fear and uncertainty, our first responders demonstrated an extraordinary strength of character.

Words like “bravery,” “courage,” and “valor” are frequently used to describe their service on and after 9/11.

In his recent book “9/11 Remembered: Twenty Years Later,” my friend Bob Martin shares their stories.  I am grateful that he sent the book to me so I could read it. 

Copies of “9/11 Remembered” are available to buy through Amazon.

In his book, we learn about several personal 9/11 stories. For example, an NYPD patrol officer named Sam was at 1 Police Plaza on the morning of September 11, ready to file for retirement after 34 years on the job.

Hearing of the attack on the World Trade Center, Sam asked to have his badge and ID back.

At 9:35, a.m., Sam went into the South Tower. He never returned.

The stories in “9/11 Remembered” are a chronicle of sacrifice – men and women who risked and too often lost their lives to protect their fellow New Yorkers. 

Himself a 32-year NYPD veteran, Bob Martin writes with astonishing sensitivity.

The law enforcement officers he describes are full-dimensional people: parents, husbands and wives, classmates, and friends – ordinary people who performed an extraordinary service. 

Today, their names are carved into stone at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.

Their legacies will live forever in our hearts.

Copies of “9/11 Remembered: Twenty Years Later” are available for purchase here.

All profits will be donated to the 3256 Foundation, which was named in honor of the badge number of Sergeant Mike Curtin of the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit.

The foundation supports organizations that include the Wounded Warrior Project, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter Memorial Fund, Shriner’s Hospital for Children, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the United Way, Ronald McDonald House, and Wreaths Across America.

Sergeant Mike Curtin’s story, which begins “9/11 Remembered,” documents a life of courageous service – to the very end.

After twelve years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps, including deployment during Operation Desert Storm, Sergeant Curtin joined an elite ESU unit responsible for climbing bridges to rescue potential jumpers and crawling under subway cars to extricate people who fell on the tracks.

Sergeant Curtin was last seen helping carrying a woman out of the North Tower, moments before its collapse.