9/11 Remembered Amid Coronavirus: Montco Veterans Hold Tribute

BLUE BELL, PA — The 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks was still commemorated in Montgomery County Friday.

Montgomery County Community College put together a unique tribute online Friday, featuring local veterans who served overseas following the attacks and a former New York City Police Department officer who was serving in the city when the towers were struck.

“What I take from 9/11 now is how precious life truly is,” said Brad Herron, an MCCC graduate and veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. "Let’s not waste our time tearing down what we dislike about each other, but let’s celebrate our common goals and what makes us similar. It’s the only way we got through it then, and it’s the only way to get through these times now."

The tribute started at 8:40 a.m. to align with the first moments of the tragedy 19 years ago. It featured a lowering of the flag at the MCCC Veterans Resource Center in Blue Bell, followed by a moment of silence.

The flag flying in Blue Bell today traveled with Matthew Benko, MCCC's Manager of Veterans Services and a U.S. Air Force veteran, on several of his deployments after 9/11. Benko and that flag were in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kuwait following the attacks.

“I feel it represents what we have been coming together for as a nation," Benko said. "To preserve our freedom, securities and sacrifices that we all continue to make, those in uniform and those who are not, everyone across the board. It’s truly amazing to see this flag, and it’s humbling for me to share it with you and the words about why it’s so important to me."

The video feature also included photographs taken by Russell Del Rosario, who was a police officer in New York City when the towers fell. Today, Del Rosario is MCCC's Director of Campus Safety in Pottstown.

Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny and several other college leaders and servicemembers also spoke during the ceremony.