On a Friday evening on Hilton Head Island, the Hilton Head Island Republican Club hosted a 25th anniversary commemoration of the September 11 terrorist attacks, honoring the 2,977 victims lost that day. Attendees paused together and spoke victims' names aloud, one by one, to preserve their memory.

Retired NYPD Assistant Chief Chuck Dowd shared firsthand recollections from that morning, recalling how he witnessed the city's emergency response mobilize from Brooklyn as the attacks unfolded. He spoke to the national significance of that day and stressed the importance of continued education for younger generations, so the history isn't lost as time passes.

Jacob Dotson, president of the Hilton Head Island Republican Club, organized the event with the goal of honoring "the sacrifice of so many lives" and making sure "this story is told for generations."

Dowd described 9/11 as an attack on the entire country, one that revealed both the scale of the threat first responders faced and the unity that emerged in its wake. For Dowd — who went on to command the NYPD's 911 system and police communications for 12 years, through the 2003 Northeast blackout and Hurricane Sandy — the commemoration was also a reminder of why that work, and the people who do it, deserve ongoing support and remembrance.