Hundreds of first responders, politicians and citizens from Canada and the United States gathered at the Peace Arch border crossing Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks.
“A decade and a half has gone by, but the memories of victims never fade,” said Canada’s Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan.
Several firefighters, paramedics and police officers from New York City attended the event. Paramedic Robert Abril spoke of the morning he and his colleagues received the fateful call. Abril lost his work partner in the aftermath of the attacks.
“It was a beautiful day, like today, and we got a call around eight o’clock to go to the World Trade Centre…I thought it was the time to show what we learned, what we trained for. I never imagined I would come back alone.”
NYPD Sgt. Antonio Ortiz acknowledged that even though 15 years have passed, the emotions are still raw.
“It’s hard to even talk about it sometimes,” Ortiz said.
“I just like to think that I saved more people than I saw die,” added Abril.
Watch: Four first responders called to duty in New York on the fateful morning of September 11, 2001, join Global News to talk about their experiences
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