9/11

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops recalled the heroic deeds of first responders and security forces during the Sept. 11 attacks around the country on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the day’s harrowing events.

There isn’t a day that goes by that Tom and Beverly Burnett don’t think about Sept. 11, 2001, and what that day cost their family: the life of their son, Tom Burnett Jr., who helped to lead the effort to take back United Airlines Flight 93 from its terrorist hijackers.

Twenty years ago, an abandoned strip mine in western Pennsylvania transformed in one shocking moment into a national shrine, a living testament to the courage of everyday Americans faced with a life-or-death choice.

The foundation helps the spouses and children of firefighters and police officers killed in the line of duty, and for many of these families pays off their remaining mortgage.