Remember all we lost on Sept. 11

Each year, the list grows. Each year, the FDNY and other public agencies across the region etch more names on memorial walls dedicated to those who've died from illnesses related to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Each year, there are more people to remember, more reasons to grieve. As we commemorate that awful day once more on Monday, the tragedy hits us again, often in new but still painful ways.

Just days before this year's anniversary, the FDNY added 43 new names, including 16 Long Islanders, to its memorial wall. Oyster Bay Town added four more names to its wall. As we continue to mourn the nearly 3,000 people who were murdered on Sept. 11, including 343 FDNY members, we also mourn the thousands who have died in the years since.

But as time passes, a new generation grows that did not experience that dreadful day in person. And 22 years later, our own senses have dimmed. The acrid smell no longer wafts from lower Manhattan. The ghastly sights and sounds fade from our minds. The horror we felt so deeply is, perhaps, a bit more faint, especially as more recent tragedies and challenges have taken center stage.

The anniversary's commemorations and television coverage have waned. So, it's incumbent on us to do our part, to stop, remember and share those memories. We also must remember so that we can teach the generation of children who've grown up over the last two decades. New York already requires that students be taught about the Sept. 11 attacks, but that curriculum must be as complete as possible. Just 13 other states require 9/11 education. All 50 should.

Sept. 11 also has become a National Day of Service, a time to turn a tragedy into a moment when we can do some good. Take the time to do something for someone else. Involve your children and grandchildren. Any gesture, however small, matters. That's true, too, for our first responders and others who lived and worked near Ground Zero, who are still suffering and still dying. For them, the repercussions have never stopped. We must care for them, and make sure federal officials fund the treatment they deserve. Congress must make the necessary fixes to the World Trade Center Health Program so its future funding is no longer in limbo. 

Bells will toll Monday at 8:46 a.m. to mark when the first plane hit the World Trade Center, and then at 9:03 a.m. for the second plane's attack. We might be tempted to ignore them. We might feel we are too busy to pay them mind. But we should stop and listen. For those who were killed that day, for those who have died since, and for those whose deaths may yet stem from this day of infamy.

For every name etched on every memorial wall, now and in the future, we remember.