September 11, 2001 was a day that everyone won’t forget. It was a day where thousands of people lost their lives in a coordinated act of terrorism. While the events were mostly contained to New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, the tragedy was felt by people around the world.

The financial world stopped for almost a week because no one was allowed to get to Wall Street. New York was holding its city elections on that day, and they had to postpone the elections to a later date. Numerous businesses that had offices in the World Trade Center lost valuable staff members.

Then, New York City also lost several of its finest due to the collapse. A large group of firefighters, paramedics, police officers and other emergency workers were killed. The ones who made it out alive were the lucky ones.

Then in Washington, our national defense was attacked as well when the hijackers decided to crash a plane into the Pentagon. That’s probably one reason why our military wants to stamp out terrorism.

Finally, the day could have been worse if it hadn’t been for the passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93. They overtook the hijackers by forcing the plane to crash in an open field in Pennsylvania.

Seven years later, the events feel like they just happened yesterday, but there also seems to be a feeling that we have forgotten about the attacks. You don’t see as many American flags being flown in our neighborhoods. While patriotism doesn’t just mean that you fly the flag, displaying the American flag is a symbol of patriotism.

There isn’t as much of support for the troops. There isn’t even as much of an appreciation for the jobs that law enforcement, firefighters and other emergency workers as there was in the days after the attacks.

One way we can never forget what happened on 9-11-01 is to always do our best to support our heroes. That includes thanking them anytime we see them. They put their lives on the line each and every day. If you see one come into a restaurant, you might consider buying his or her meal. If you can’t do that, write them a letter.

They are the ones who preserve our freedoms every day.