We Will Never Forget
Kumu Gupta

We will never forget 9/11, the brave souls who perished, whom they left behind and including the first responders who ran into danger and not away from it.

Living in MA , we were especially impacted as there were many people from this area who worked at the World Trade Center and the American Airlines rammed into WTC as well as United Airways flights took off from Boston Logan Airport. But even in the face of such 'catastrophic hell', I was taken aback as well as found strength in these 2 'hero's' I met after 9/11. Susan Retik, a Needham MA native who lost her husband in one of the World Trade Center Tower's but instead of succumbing to her grief decided to help other widows in Afghanistan by providing each one with one hen , so they could sell their eggs and make money to survive. Being profoundly touched by her courage and compassion, I nominated Susan for President's Citizens Medal and am honored to say that President Obama awarded Susan the medal (2010) at the white house.  I was again struck by the human compassion and resilience of Paul Veneto recently, when I saw  and heard of him pushing a Service Cart to Shanksville PA to keep the memory of those who perished in the down'd United Airways flight alive. Paul is a retired United Flight Attendant who just finished his shift before that United Flight took off from Boston Logan Airport. So every 9/11 Paul physically pushes a flight service cart by road to the 9/11 sites as a way of doing his part in this unconceivable tragic happening. As a certifying organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award , I awarded Paul a Gold President's Volunteer Service Award Medal for his patriotism and perseverance,  in August just before he took off on his journey pushing his cart from MA to Ground Zero , arriving there on 9/11. The Award came  with a certificate and letter from the white house signed by President Biden. And finally  a while ago I   met Joseph Pereira , a fellow resident of Quincy, MA   resident of Quincy, MA who as a reporter for Wall Street Journal, reported on 9/11 Live as he saw the Towers come down in front of his eyes for the Wall Street Journal and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his piece.

I feel so blessed to have met these wonderfully amazing people that give me hope and strength to live with my memories of 9/11.

*Kumu Gupta served member of President's Challenge Program of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition under President Obama and is recipient of the Council's Community Leadership Award as well as President's Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for over 2 decades of humanitarian work in women's and children's rights and global peace via her new initiative Global Peace Secretariat.

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