A Youngstown FBI agent recalled how he felt after the Twin Towers fell.

By ELISE FRANCO

A Youngstown FBI agent recalled how he felt after the Twin Towers fell.

CANFIELD — Life as an American is not as it was on the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our country, but it will never again be as it was on Sept. 10, 2001, Canfield Fire Chief Robert Tieche says.

Tieche opened the 7th annual Patriot Day Ceremony on Canfield Village Green on Thursday by saying it’s important to have memorial services so the events of that day are not forgotten.

“We have not forgotten,” he said. “When is it OK to move on? It’s up to you to make the decision.”

Residents and police and fire personnel filled the lawn of the green to pay their respects to those who lost their lives seven years ago.

“It’s important to remember what happened, as a nation,” said Beth Patrick of Canfield. “And it’s also important to celebrate the great safety services we have here in our community.”

For the past three years, Beth and her husband, Steve, have attended the ceremony.

Steve said even though his family didn’t know anyone who died in the attacks, it still brings tears to his eyes.

“It’s just all emotions,” he said. “It was a bad thing that happened, and you don’t want anyone to ever forget.”

Canfield Township Trustee Richard Puerner said he thinks turnout for the event gets better every year. He comes, he said, because “I am an American.”

“I thought it was great this year,” Puerner said. “A lot of people lost their lives, and we owe it to them to do something like this.”

The keynote speaker for the evening was John Stoll, senior supervisory resident agent for the FBI Youngstown Division.

He shared his memories of the Twin Towers and the impact that Sept. 11 had on his life.

Stoll, originally from Farmingdale, N.Y., a suburb of New York City on Long Island, said he remembers being able to see the looming towers from his house when they were completed in the early 1970s.

He remembers flying by them in a private plane with his wife.

In 1993, Stoll said he and his wife went up to the top of the observation deck in the South Tower.

“That was the first and last time we would ever get so close,” he said.

Stoll also spoke of Peter Ganci Jr., former chief of the New York Fire Department, who was killed rescuing others from the World Trade Center.

“His last call of duty was 9/11/01, but he pulled 50 men to safety before he died,” Stoll said. “He died a hero, as did so many others.”

He said the number of casualties in the attacks totaled 2,974, about the population of Poland village.

“The terrorists stole something from this country that we can never get back,” Stoll said. “But in a time where the city was the most frightened, [safety officers] showed the most unselfish of sacrifices.”

Capt. Bill Jones, of the Cardinal Joint Fire District, shared the Firefighter’s Prayer, and Chief David Blystone, of the Canfield Police Department, recited the Police Officer’s Prayer.

Youngstown Police and Austintown fire departments’ honor guards also participated in the ceremony.

Chaplain Dave Watson, of Crossroads Church in Youngstown, who gave the opening and closing prayers, said Americans must never lose sight of what the country’s flag represents, especially now.

“There are so many things that divide us,” he said. “But we thank [God] for all the things that unite us as Americans.”