Mel Rising Dawn Cordeiro
Editor in Chief
September 11, 2001 is a date that, for most of us, is burned into our memories. Much like our parents’ generation when they think about the Kennedy assassination, most of us can still remember where we were on that fateful date when America came to a screeching halt.
This year marks the 22nd anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93. Around 3,000 people lost their lives that day. These victims were everyday people going about their average day. They were first responders, business people, parents, children, friends and more importantly, innocent.
According to USA Today, authorities are still identifying the remains of those who have passed. On Sept 8, a man and a woman, whose names are being withheld due to familial requests, were positively identified through DNA sequencing techniques through the efforts of the New York City medical examiner’s office. These DNA sequencing techniques via body fragments have so far identified 1,649 of the victims.
Nearly 10,000 first responders have been diagnosed with cancer, and about 2,000 have already passed away from what medical experts have dubbed “9/11 illness,” mainly, toxin exposure. The time is fast approaching where the number of those passing from 9/11 illness will surpass the number of those who died from the attack.
RIC’s Military Resource Center is honoring those who paid the ultimate sacrifice by hosting a two mile walk/runThese two miles are the roughly equivalent of the 110 flights of stairs the first responders climbed in the World Trade Center. Similar walk/run events take place annually and usually follow the path that the rescue and recovery workers repeatedly took through Manhattan to gain access to Ground Zero.
This event is open to all and will take place on September 11 from 11am-2pm. Those who are participating are asked to meet near the steps of the quad entrance to the Murray Center.
For more information on this event, please contact Steven Pina at spina@ric.edu. For more information regarding the Military Resource Center, please contact them directly at mrc@ric.edu.
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