LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. — The September 11, 2001 attacks hit close to home for many first responders throughout the nation.
Wednesday marked 18 years since the attack that killed nearly 3,000 people when terrorists hijacked planes that slammed into the Pentagon, the World Trade Center and a field in Pennsylvania.
For first responders old enough to remember this horrendous attack, the memories of the grief surrounding this day is still palpable.
Lawrenceville Police Department's Lieutenant Jake Parker worked for the police department during the September 2001 attack. He said the most important thing that day was how first responders acted in the face of the chaos.
"When something tragic like that happens, we're [first responders] not going to stand outside and watch it, we're going in to help as many people as we can," he said.
"That touches us because that would've been us if we were working NYPD."
To commemorate the police officers, firefighters and other first responders who gave their service and lives on that unforgettable September day, the Lawrenceville Police Department designed a uniform patch for their officers to wear in 2002.
"They decided they wanted this design so we can remember every September," Parker said.
Parker was later deployed to Afghanistan in 2005 and brought the commemorative patch along with him to continue to give honor to those who gave their lives on 9/11.
More than a decade later, he still keeps this very patch nearby to remember the lost lives.
The Lawrenceville Police Department plans to issue more of these commemorative 9/11 patches to current officers and new recruits.
The department is also planning to wear pink badges and wrap a police vehicle in pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month in October.
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