The nation is marking the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks - WAMC's regional coverage begins with Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas in Albany...
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A solemn ceremony at the New York State Museum in downtown Albany started with a moment of silence at 8:46 am, marking the moment that the first hijacked jetliner crashed into the World Trade Center in 2001.
There were 6 moments of silence in all at the museum's World Trade Center exhibition - 1 for each plane and tower that fell. Firefighters and their families gathered round the exhibition's centerpiece: the heavily damaged Engine 6 pumper. Stationed a few blocks away, it was one of the first units of fire apparatus that responded to the emergency call.
Fire Lt. Paul Schmalzreid was off-duty on 9-eleven. He recalled the events of the day. Arlene Beyer lost her husband Paul, a 9-year veteran with Engine 6. She fondly remembers him, smiling as he sat behind the wheel of the fire truck, doing the job he loved. Beyer now volunteers as a tour guide at the World Trade Center tribute museum in Manhattan.
Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy mingled with the first responders - he echoed the message we've heard so many times: "never forget" .
Rich Bader is keeping the memory of 9/11 alive: he teaches the New Visions Law and Government program in Albany - he brought his class of Capital Region high school seniors to the observance.
With more than 2,000 artifacts, the New York State Museum is the nation's largest repository of objects recovered from the World Trade Center site. Tuesday afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a statement on 9-eleven to all New Yorkers - quote - "It is also our obligation and our duty to make sure that we will always remember.
