Talbot County, Maryland

09/11/2024

Category: County Manager’s Office County Council

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Talbot County Council Vice President Pete Lesher provides the keynote speech during the ceremony, connecting the local response to the War of 1812 and 9/11, reminding the community that we are “one community” despite our differences.

The following speech was presented by Talbot County Council Vice President, Pete Lesher during the 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance event on September 11, 2024. 

“WE ARE ONE”—the message in all caps was published by Gen. Perry Benson. He might well have been speaking of Talbot County’s reaction to the tragic events of September 11, 2001—indeed, of our nation’s reaction. Not since then have we felt so united in purpose—resolved to find out who perpetrated the coordinated hijackings of four airliners for an unprecedented deadly purpose—resolved to support the families of firefighters who perished while running into danger—resolved to comfort and provide counsel to those who survived, who responded to the event, who were profoundly affected by what they witnessed or who they lost—resolved to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

General Perry Benson was speaking about another national crisis—our response to the British blockade of the Chesapeake and local British attacks during the War of 1812. War came to our very doorstep then. And Perry Benson assembled the local militia from Talbot, from Caroline, and a few from Dorchester and Queen Anne’s Counties. In August 1813, he successfully defended St. Michaels and later Queenstown. In the closing months of the war—after the burning of Washington and the successful defense of Baltimore, when they seized one of our prized local vessels—Benson reported that we remained resolved, united in purpose, and he had not a single deserter from the militia companies. So he ordered a brief message published in the paper commending that unity—WE ARE ONE!

Yet in this election year, it is easy to feel that we are more deeply divided than ever. For many Americans, it feels like the stakes have never been higher, and that we are not even speaking the same language. That we come into this election with contrasting values as we vie for control of the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. That we fear an America in decline if our candidate does not prevail. These differences are deep—these disagreements are serious.

But on this day of remembrance, this day of service, our focus is on what we have in common—what we value together as a community and as a nation. In addition to mourning the victims of September 11th, this day has become an occasion to honor the work of those who first came to our aid that day—our first responders, like the firefighters who rushed into the towers in lower Manhattan, EMS crews who offered aid at the Pentagon, and law enforcement officers who raced to the scene in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. At each site, responders included the paid firefighters, emergency medical services companies, and law enforcement agencies—but also volunteers, like many of the first responders—men and women—who serve us in Talbot County and across much of rural America.

It is these first responders who train and respond when we phone the 9-1-1 dispatchers. And when we call, they do not care whether we are white or Black or Hispanic —they fight our fire regardless. They do not question whether we are Catholic or Evangelical or Muslim—they treat our loved ones facing a medical emergency just the same. They do not ask whether we are Democrats or Republicans —they respond to the domestic violence call just the same.

The challenges of our human condition, and the threats we face are the same, regardless of our politics, regardless of our religious faith, regardless of our race or ethnicity or marital status, regardless of whom we love or how we identify, regardless of whether they have known us since childhood or never met until we needed them. Our first responders do their duty just the same.

Pennsylvania State Trooper James Broderick was dispatched to the crash site of Flight 93 near Shanksville. On the way, he asked himself, according to a report by David Sutor at the memorial, “How would I respond to this? Am I even going to know the difference between a hijacker and a passenger? … Am I going to know the difference between a good guy and a bad guy?” But when he got to the crash site, he saw the size of the crater and he “did not feel that anybody could survive that type of crash.”

Paramedic Kevin Huszek said, “I am supposed to help people. When I arrived on the scene that day, the most difficult thing for me was there was nobody to help. That was the most difficult thing for me that day. It still carries on here 20 years [later].”

Firefighter Rick King of the Shanksville Fire Company, responding to the crash, recalled, “I was driving and I look over at the firefighter who was sitting in the opposite seat and I looked at him, and I said, ‘Keith, I can’t swallow.’ Emotions were just unbelievable.”

But with the emotional toll of the event, these first responders and others felt the outpouring of support—like the outpouring that we offer to our community first responders today—which one called “the Sept. 12 effect.”

Never did we lose so many first responders as on that fateful day twenty-three years ago. Rarely, if ever, have we needed so many of them all at once. So it is appropriate that we commemorate them on this day. Because the life-or-death risk is there every day. Their lifesaving work is visible every day—on our highways, in our neighborhoods, and especially here in Talbot County, on our waterways.

It is this sense of mission. It is this commitment to community service. It is this dedication of time and talent that we honor today. September 11 reminds us of the potential cost of this mission for those who protect us within our borders. It is our place to offer our repeated and deep gratitude—and to offer them meaningful support in whatever ways we can—from our seats on the County Council, from your place as family members supporting them—or wherever you are in this community. Many of our first responders are here today. Don’t leave without thanking them. Today, on this day of remembrance, WE ARE ONE.

- Talbot County Council Vice President, Pete Lesher

The annual event serves as a reminder not only of the lives lost, but of the profound heroism displayed in the aftermath of the attacks. From firefighters and police officers to everyday individuals who stepped forward to help, their courage continues to inspire our nation today.

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