On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, elected leaders, law enforcement officials, veterans, firefighters, and other first responders gathered to dedicate a new memorial in Monroe County's Gary Beikirch Memorial Park.
The 9/11 First Responders Memorial is the result of a partnership between the county, the state, and organized labor. The Rochester-Genesee Valley Area Labor Federation proposed and advocated for the memorial.
"The professionalism and heroism shown by all of the first responders on 9/11 is flat out amazing, astounding," said Dan Maloney, president of the federation. "The selfless act acts of courage displayed by those going into harm's way to save others, to rescue strangers, restores my faith in humanity. So we are here today to dedicate this memorial as a way to honor the memory of all the innocent victims, the heroes of 9/11, but also to honor the everyday heroes that put on the uniform as first responders each day."
Matt Murphy, president of the Rochester firefighters union, echoed Maloney. He said that when he learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, he knew that if he had been there, he would have been running into those buildings to help, and so would have every firefighter in the crowd.
"We didn't just lose 343 professional firefighters' lives haphazardly," Murphy said, "they were trying to save as many people as they possibly could. These men and women gave their lives as part of the greatest rescue in the history of the fire service."
The memorial, which stands roughly at the corner of Highland and South avenues in Rochester, consists of ivory-colored replicas of the Twin Towers and a blue triangle with star cutouts, reminiscent of a properly folded American flag.
Monroe County lawmakers approved $250,000 in state funding for the project in 2023, aiming to complete the memorial in time for the 25th anniversary. That initial concept also called for plaques, flagpoles and benches and landscaping, all of which are included in the finished memorial.
A Friday news release from the county said the state provided $350,000 in grant funding for the project.
The county describes the memorial as "a tribute to the victims, heroes, and survivors of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93 and honors the firefighters, EMTs, and police officers who responded to them."
Several of the speakers also noted that there is now a generation that did not live through 9/11 and its immediate aftermath, and the same will be true for generations to come.
"Twenty-five years later something has changed," said County Executive Adam Bello. "There is now an entire generation of Americans who don't remember September 11th. For those of us who those of us who lived through it, 9/11 is a memory. For our kids and the generations that come after them, it's history. And that means it's now our responsibility to tell the story. That's what memorials do."
