Standing atop the steps outside the Berks County Services Center in downtown Reading Friday morning, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan made a plea.<\/p>\n
Speaking at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she called on those who remember the horrific day \u2014 the ones who lived through it and carry the sights and sounds of that day in their minds \u2014 to share their stories.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis anniversary asks something of us,\u201d the Chester County Democrat said. \u201cFor many of us, Sept. 11 is a memory. But for those who are younger, it is history.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd somewhere between memory and history comes our responsibility,\u201d she continued. \u201cOur responsibility is to make sure they know more than just the date, but that they know the victims were real people with real lives that were brutally cut short.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houlahan said younger generations need to know that the firefighters who climbed flight after flight of stairs while thousands of people raced down were heroes standing amongst us. They need to understand that the police officers and emergency workers who stayed on site while people fled, the passengers of Fight 93 who fought back and the service members who raised their hands in the wake of the tragedy will forever be in our debt.<\/p>\n
Houlahan said Friday\u2019s solemn ceremony offers an opportunity to stop and remember those lost in the attacks, those who sacrificed in service of others and those who answered the call to defend the nation in the years that followed. She said the stories of those people cannot disappear simply because time moves forward.<\/p>\n
![\"Reading](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/REG-L-County9-11Ceremony1419.jpg\")
Reading Fire Department Lt. John Naylor rings the bell honoring those who lost their lives in the attacks and who later died from disease from working at Ground Zero during the Berks Remembers 25th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, on Friday at the Berks County Services Center. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually memory becomes history, but remembrance is a choice,\u201d she said. \u201cMay we continue to tell those stories faithfully and may the generations who come after us understand not only what happened on Sept. 11, but what Americans were willing to do for one another when it did.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of those willing to step up following the attacks was Jay Ostrich, who shared his story during Friday\u2019s ceremony.<\/p>\n
Ostrich, the director of the Berks County Veterans Affairs Office, was 30 when the attacks took place. He had taken the day off of work and planned to spend it looking for a new job \u2014 one that would pay him more, allow him to get a bigger house and a better car.<\/p>\n
At that moment everything, he said, was about how he could serve himself.<\/p>\n
He turned on the TV, and all of that changed.<\/p>\n
![\"Lt.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/REG-L-County9-11Ceremony1416.jpg\")
Lt. Col. Jay Ostrich of the Berks County Veterans Affairs speaks during the Berks Remembers 25th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, on Friday at the Berks County Services Center. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Ostrich said the images he saw on the screen horrified but inspired him. In particular, he was moved by the story of United Airlines Flight 93 passenger Todd Beamer.<\/p>\n
Beamer, along with other passengers and crew members, attempted to regain control of the aircraft from the hijackers. During the struggle, the hijackers crashed the Boeing 757 into a field near Shanksville \u2014 killing everyone on board but preventing the terrorists from reaching their intended target in Washington.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe very next day I enlisted in the United States Air Force,\u201d Ostrich said. \u201cNow, I do not consider myself a hero, but I can tell you with great sincerity that I have served in the company of heroes and served for a purpose greater than myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ostrich said that, unfortunately, the feeling of unity that washed over the nation following the attacks has been replaced by attacks on our fellow Americans because of what they think, what they look like or what political party they belong to.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us use this day to not only remember those who were lost but to renew our own personal vows to serve our community, our county, our commonwealth and our country with acts of selflessness, grace and kindness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The passengers of Flight 93 weren\u2019t the only Americans to act heroically on Sept. 11.<\/p>\n
Berks County Sheriff Mandy Miller, who spoke Friday on behalf of first responders, shined a light on the people who selflessly ran to help that day instead of fleeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we remember Sept. 11 there is one image that has always stayed with me,\u201d she said. \u201cThousands were desperately trying to get away from the danger and then you saw the first responders running toward it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency personnel didn\u2019t have all the information and didn\u2019t know what was coming next, but people needed help so they went. The loss of rescue workers at the World Trade Center that day remains the largest single-day loss of first responders in the nation\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can never allow them to become just numbers,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were people, they had families waiting for them at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you take this job somewhere in the back of your mind you know there could come a day when someone else\u2019s life depends on what you\u2019re willing to do, and on Sept. 11 that moment came in a way that no one could have imagined,\u201d she continued. \u201cThey didn\u2019t have time to prepare themselves for it, they just did their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Miller said that is what she will always remember \u2014 how so many people stepped forward when they were needed the most.<\/p>\n
\u201cSept. 11 showed us the worst of what people can do, but it also showed us what the best of Americans can be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Like Houlahan, Berks County Commissioner Christian Leinbach said it is the duty of those who remember that day to make sure the next generation does not forget.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-five years ago America was attacked, but not defeated,\u201d he said. \u201cAmerica is strong today because of how we responded to that attack and America\u2019s future depends on how we tell that story to the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Berks](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/REG-L-County9-11Ceremony1418.jpg\")
Berks County Commissioner Dante Santoni speaks during the Berks Remembers 25th Anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, on Friday at the Berks County Services Center. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
Commissioner Dante Santoni Jr. spoke about the tragedy of the day but also addressed the bright lights of heroism and hope that were ignited.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to remember the lives that were lost, the families that have endured unimaginable pain throughout these last 25 years and the heroes who ran toward danger to save others,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we must also remember how we came together with courage, compassion and a shared commitment to one another.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santoni said that remembering means more than looking back, it means carrying forward the values of service, kindness and unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only good thing that came out of the attacks was that our country stood together,\u201d he said. \u201cSo let\u2019s bring that spirit back.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Standing atop the steps outside the Berks County Services Center in downtown Reading Friday morning, U.S. Rep. Chrissy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":283947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,182,139,28,128,130,129,706],"class_list":["post-283946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-local-news","tag-news","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-top-stories-reg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/283946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/283947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=283946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=283946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}