Editor Note: We believe some of the most important stories in America are the ones that rarely make the headlines.
We are proud to announce the launch of Untold Stories, a new video series produced in partnership with the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) and sponsored by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Foundation. Over the coming months, this two-dozen-episode series will take viewers inside federal law enforcement agencies across the nation, highlighting the men and women who serve, the missions they carry out, and the partnerships that help keep our communities and country safe.
Through exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes access, and firsthand accounts, Untold Stories will showcase success stories, innovative initiatives, and unique perspectives on national security and public safety.
Join us for the latest episode here, as Untold Stories takes you inside the agencies, missions, and people working every day to protect our nation. This episode gives you a preview of what is to come in this series.
Twenty-five years have passed since the September 11 terrorist attacks, but behind the history books, memorials, and familiar images are the firsthand stories of the law enforcement officers and first responders who lived through that day.
For them, the memories remain as vivid as ever.
“I still remember that day like it was yesterday,” Dr. Jean Kanokogi recalled. “I know exactly where I was. I know exactly what it smelled like. I know exactly the temperature, everything. Like time stopped.”
September 11, 2001, began as an ordinary Tuesday morning. Within hours, nearly 3,000 Americans would be killed in coordinated terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and other first responders immediately rushed toward scenes from which thousands of others were desperately trying to escape.
Former New York City detective Jon Adler recalled being assigned to the Bronx Gang Squad when the first plane struck the World Trade Center. Like millions of Americans, he initially watched the unfolding scene on television. Then the second aircraft hit.
“We realized it wasn’t an accident,” Adler said. “It wasn’t an issue of any communication mishap. It was an intentional attack.”
“The immediate thought, the immediate passion, the immediate purpose is run forward and save lives, and minimize the damage of what these savages did,” he recalled.
Among those who answered the call that morning was FLEOA Vice President for Law Enforcement Affairs Pete Forcelli, who was then a brand-new ATF agent.
“On September 11, 2001, I was a brand new ATF agent,” Forcelli recalled.
Forcelli was on his way to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Lower Manhattan when his supervisor redirected him to the World Trade Center following the first impact. After arriving, he began helping keep people moving and clearing access for fire trucks, ambulances, police vehicles, and other emergency crews.
He recalled seeing the horror of the second impact unfold firsthand before watching three former NYPD colleagues, John Coughlin, Walter Weaver, and Vinnie Danz, enter the South Tower.
“And as I’m watching those guys walk in, the south tower collapsed on them,” Forcelli recalled.
Forcelli ran north as the tower came down, eventually making his way back toward the devastation to search for anyone who could still be helped.
“And it was weird because you either got out or you were gone,” Forcelli said. “There was no one that you could really help.”
As the hours passed, the mission increasingly shifted from rescue to recovery.
Knokogi recalled walking through a New York City that suddenly looked nothing like the city she knew. Responders dug through the ruins as families gathered nearby carrying photographs and signs bearing the names of missing loved ones.
“All I want to do is help people. All I want to do is rescue people,” Knokogi recalled.
“You had to try to give these people closure,” she said. “You had to try to find hope.”
Those stories are part of the legacy of September 11 that can be lost when the day is remembered only in broad historical terms. They are the memories of those who stood beneath the towers, searched the rubble, and carried the weight of what they witnessed long after the immediate crisis ended.
The toll of September 11 also did not end when the fires were extinguished. Hundreds of responders have since died from cancers, respiratory illnesses, and other diseases associated with their exposure to toxic conditions at Ground Zero, while many others continue to live with the physical and psychological effects of their service.
“No one thought or even considered to think, ‘If I respond here, what would happen to me?’” one speaker said of those who spent days, months, and, in some cases, years working at the site.
Knokogi likewise stressed the continuing consequences for those who answered the call.
“But too many people have forgotten how many people have suffered continuously since that day,” she said.
Programs such as the World Trade Center Health Program continue to provide monitoring and treatment for eligible responders and survivors suffering from 9/11-related health conditions.
“There should be no time limit on when we should stop grieving or when we stop celebrating, honoring, or remembering,” one speaker said.
That responsibility becomes increasingly important with every passing year. Millions of Americans alive today were either too young to remember September 11 or had not yet been born.
“It still needs to be taught in our schools, our workplaces, from our family, friends, and other groups,” a speaker said. “It’s very important that this day is never forgotten.”
“The theme of today is remembering,” another speaker said. “Remembering their lives, remembering their sacrifices, remembering who they are.”
ATF Director Rob Cekada emphasized the responsibility to continue telling the story of September 11 and honoring those whose lives were forever changed by the attacks.
Twenty-five years later, the firsthand stories of those who answered the call remain an essential part of understanding what happened that day, and what followed.
For the rest of the nation, September 11 is a solemn anniversary.
For those who were there, it never really ended.
“Today, we say never forget,” Cekada said. “For us first responders, it’s every day.”
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