The heroes of 9/11 and long after

Many heroes in the days and years after we ll never know. They were the ones who dug up our dead and eventually perished themselves from toxins at the site. Who fought in wars elsewhere so we didn t have to fight here. Who killed terrorists. Intercepted cells. Patrolled our streets and, yes, our bridges and our tunnels. They let us live our lives under their protection.  

So many times I wanted to stop and tell the red-bearded cop how he made us less afraid during the scariest time of our lives. I never got to tell him. 

One day, he was there no longer. He d moved on, too. I tried for years to find him, writing and calling various people and departments, but never managed to get his name. 

The man with the red beard held the line. We were millions of shattered pieces, broken over what had been done to us, and we counted on people like him to put us back together again. We don t know his name, but he and his fellow guardians were the key to bringing back our city.

There were heroes of that day, long after 9/11. They live among us still.

via nypost.com