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St. Augustine pays tribute to those who lost their lives on 9/11

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — It's been 18 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks and still, local communities honor and remember the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives.

“On a day like this, it’s a good time to remember that we are all Americans first and not Democrats or Republicans,” explains Bill Brennock, a local retired FDNY firefighter.

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And Wednesday in St. Augustine, that’s exactly what more than 100 locals and first responders did.

Everyone came together as one city to pay tribute to those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001.

“This is just a very emotional day. It’s hard to believe it’s been 18 years since the terrorist attacks,” Brennock said.

For Brennock, who answered the call of duty, this day means something a little different than it dos for most Americans.

“Over the next six months, we all worked on the pile search and rescue. We spend a lot of our time going to a lot of funerals; 343 firefighters died that day.”

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Despite the time that has passed, just about everyone still remembers what they were doing on this day 18 years ago, especially first responders.

Vacationer John Lanier recalls, “We all piled in at the back of the kitchen and watched it on TV that morning and from that day on, it’s just everything changed.”

So to see the community come out in big numbers 18 years later, gives Lanier hope that America will always remember.

“So happy that everyone still remembers, shows up here, shows respect. One line we always use is 'Never forget',” Lanier said.