Every year on this date I take time to remember, grieve, celebrate and honor the many heroes and those that lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. Thirteen years have flown by but the wounds are deep. 2,977 innocent people died on that day and they, as well as their families deserve to be remembered.

In addition, more than 1,400 first responders have also died since 9/11. There are many more that are sick and suffering.

I think it’s important on this day of remembrance to also remember the heroic men and women that have served our country and those that gave their lives in the days since 9/11 to protect our freedoms. To date, more than 8,000 American and Allied soldiers have died in post-9/11 wars.

A close up of the Last Column.

How will you remember this tragic and historic day?

Here is a link to a list of ways you might participate in the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The photographs I’m sharing here are images I took on the official opening day of the museum at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City on May 21, 2014.

You can see more images I shot that day by clicking here.

Even as the buildings collapsed, the slurry wall held back the water that would have flooded Lower Manhattan.

Tridents recovered from Ground Zero.

Ladder 3.

A lot has changed in our world since then. Some good, some bad. I can honestly say I don’t feel any safer today than I did immediately after the attacks. I will say though, that I think America needs to be very cautious and not let fear and hate win over reason when it comes to national security and our place in the world. War does not equal justice and war does not always protect us in the way it is intended.

In today’s world, it makes us a bigger target.

I miss the unity I felt in the days and months after 9/11. We came together as a nation then. With all that is happening in this country and around the world, we need that now more than ever.

Behind this wall lie the unidentified remains of many that perished on 9/11/01.