FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Sept. 11, 2026) -- Members of the Fort Drum and North Country communities gathered at the “Lest We Forget” Memorial on Sept. 11, a quarter century after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to remember the lives lost and the courage and selflessness that had united a nation.
Standing in formation were Fort Drum Directorate of Emergency Services and local firefighters in dress uniforms, law enforcement personnel, and military police, as a ceremonial bell tolled at 8:46 a.m. to mark the time when the first plane hit the World Trade Center tower.
“We gather today under the quiet shadow of a morning that changed everything,” said Brig. Gen. Adam Cobb, 10th Mountain Division (LI) commanding general for sustainment. “The attacks sought to shatter our resolve, but instead they forged an unbreakable unity. The culture of our nation shifted overnight. We became a people bound by a shared grief, but more importantly, we became bound by a fierce, collective determination to defend the freedom we so easily took for granted.”
The 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony honored both the first responders who rushed into the burning towers and the generation of service members whose lives and careers were reshaped by the aftermath.
“For the 10th Mountain Division, that shift was immediate and profound,” Cobb said. “It defined our modern heritage. When the nation looked for those who could take the fight to the dark corners of the earth, it was our blue-collar division that answered first.”
Cobb spoke of Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis, the Staten Island native who enlisted and served with the 10th Mountain Division (LI) after 9/11.
On Aug. 28, 2013, during an insurgent assault on his forward operating base in Afghanistan, Ollis used his own body to shield a wounded Polish officer from an approaching suicide bomber.
“Staff Sgt. Ollis’s story is the story of the 10th Mountain Division,” Cobb said. “Born from the ashes of 9/11, forged in the crucible of combat, and defined by a love for one’s fellow Soldier that is stronger than death itself.” The observance included a wreath laying at the foot of the memorial and playing of Taps.
“As we stand here today, let us recommit ourselves to the promise we made 25 years ago,” Cobb said. “We will never forget. We will keep transforming. We will keep fighting. And we will always climb. Climb to Glory.”
Earlier that morning, thousands of Fort Drum community members participated in the 9/11 Remembrance 5K Run outside Magrath Sports Complex. Some ran in patriotic attire, while some Soldiers chose to wear rucks, body armor or other gear to honor those who never made it home. Soldiers with Multipurpose Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Mobile Brigade Combat Team, went the distance carrying two litters stacked with 180 pounds of weight.
“This is something we do every year as a memorial for those who lost their lives on Sept. 11 and the ensuing wars that followed,” said 1st Lt. Michael Lay, Atlas platoon leader. “As we’re running and carrying this weight, this is a reminder for us all about why we’re here, and what we fight for.”
Though many participants were not yet born when the towers fell, through stories like Ollis’s and ceremonies rooted in shared history ensure the legacy of 9/11 endures.
“Personally, I was sitting in a crib when 9/11 happened,” Lay said. “I have no recollection of it. But we can still remember and honor the lives that have been lost. A lot of us have family members who were deployed overseas and had to spend time away from us when we were children. And now we are fighting for them, and the people that they lost.”