Not Just Another 9/11

Meet Chief Jack Reed of the Marion Fire Dept. in Illinois. In mid 2002, the Marion FD made the decision to support the 9-11 Patch Project's effort to remember the heroes of 9-11 and add the 9-11 Patch to their uniforms. Evident by the photo of Chief Read still wearing the 9-11 Patch, WE WILL NEVER FORGET means never!

It has been nearly 12 years since the tragic events of 9/11 and there are over 10,000 organizations out there in more than 30 countries that have made that promise to NEVER FORGET by wearing one of the 9-11 Patches. In fact, there are millions of organizations out there that have also made that promise and don't wear a patch.

Do we all need to wear a patch to make that promise? No. But those who have made the 9-11 Patch a part of their uniforms or other official clothing, proudly enforce that promise visually, to one another and members of the public.

The 9-11 Patch Project only came about because of four words spoken by an FDNY firefighter at Ground Zero as he was saying goodbye to the LAFD Task Force back in September of 2011, "PLEASE DON'T FORGET US." Those four words inspired a firefighter from Los Angeles, California, to heed the call for help back in December of 2011. It became one man's mission and grew to become the mission of millions around the world to make a promise to NEVER FORGET. Taking the proceeds from the sale of the patches and donating them to 9/11 related organizations in need, was the icing on the cake.

Beating the WE WILL NEVER FORGET drum constantly over the years is a difficult thing to do--the sound is fading yet the mission continues as strong as ever. Honoring the lives of our fallen heroes must go on as lives continue to be lost as a result of 9/11--from cancer and respiratory deaths related to working the pile for months and years following 9/11, to suicides related to PTSD and Survival Guilt. Just ask John Feal, founder of the Feal Good Foundation, who is the nations strongest and most visible advocate for the health rights of 1st Responders. He has lost many friends since 9/11 and continues to lose them at as many as 30+ monthly.

9/11 is not just a part of our history...it is a part of our lives today...even 12 years later.

Selling the patches and other 9/11 themed merchandise does two things: 1. It provides a means for others to

honor the memory of the fallen and 2. provides funds to keep the 9-11 Patch Project Fund going so that funds can be raised and donated to the 9/11 charities supported over the years.

The 9-11 Patch Project owes a great deal of gratitude to the NEVERFORGET911 facebook page founder, Rich Karns, for all his help in getting the word out to fans of the site. At the time the 9-11 Patch Project founder teamed up with Karns (nearly 4 years ago) the site had about 100k fans. Today, the site is the most interactive and supported 9/11 related facebook page with over 450,000 fans.

Without the help of Karns and all the incredible Sponsors, the project doors would have closed long ago.

Will the 9-11 Patch Project continue? That is entirely up to the support that comes in from the public, public safety, military and other companies/organizations.

In closing, thanks to Chief Reed for his leadership and his willingness to continue to beat the Never Forget drum. Thanks to the thousands of organizations out there that have joined the Chief, thanks to Rich Karns for his work on facebook and finally, thanks to all the sponsors for believing in this project all these years.

Please visit the site and see how you can help and get involved today. Visit the website here: 9-11 Patch Project

Four Words & 12 Years

We met for a brief moment at a local Starbucks in Valencia, California- one month after the tragic events of 9/11/01. Steve Berkery was assigned to LAFD USAR Task Force and had just returned from a tour of duty at Ground Zero, Manhattan. I asked him what moved him the most and he told me it was one FDNY Firefighter's four words, "Please don't forget us."

These four words led me to attempt something that has never been done--design a tribute patch and try and get all firefighters to add it to their uniforms. The 9/11 Patch Project was born and the attempt to notify and get all fire departments on board, began in December of 2001. Funds raised from the sale of the $3 patches would benefit the FDNY's Uniformed Firefighters Association. After 6 months of selling the patches, $15,000 was raised and sent to the UFA on the 1 year anniversary of 9/11. Our initial costs were $18,000 for mailers and about $1.75 per patch. In addition to my full time firefighter/paramedic position, I worked about 40 additional hours per week for nearly 6 months, filling 25-50 orders each day. Orders ranged from many 1-2  patch orders to as many as 500 in one order. By the way, the 500 patch order came from a Hong Kong Fire Officer who bought them for many of his firefighters in China!

Nearly 12 years later, there are over 10,000 organizations in 30 countries that have stepped up to participate in the project. This includes firefighters (domestic and abroad) and deployed U.S. Troops. Photos of firefighters and soldiers were sent in over the years by those proud to count themselves among those who would make a promise to Never Forget.

Even though I was a firefighter reacting to the loss of 343 brothers, it made sense to create a patch with a firefighter, police officer and soldier on it for the 5-year anniversary date of 9/11. Decals, pins, and even a 9/11 Challenge Coin was created later to provide more fund raising merchandise.

How did we survive 12 years?  Aside from the 1st 9 months of fund raising, sales for the 9/11 themed fund
raising merchandise have been very sporadic. So, other fund raising projects needed to be designed and implemented to both raise funds for 9/11 related organizations and for the 9/11 Patch Project Fund; our own fund that was put in place August of 2011 so that we can keep our project running. The 10 Yr 9-11 Manhattan to Manhattan Bus tour was created as a fund raising 10 yr anniversary awareness trip across the United States. The tour ran 9 months--18,000 miles--176 stops and our major sponsor, Fire Careers, drove the bus and met with firefighters and citizens at every stop. $20,000 was raised despite the bus arriving in areas met with some of our nation's largest and most destructive disasters--including Joplin, MO, where the large 40 foot bus had to run for cover. The 9/11 Bus arrived in D.C. in time for the earthquake and in New York right when the hurricane hit Manhattan.

How can you help? We depend heavily on our $911 Sponsor program to keep the project afloat--problem is, many say they will step up and sponsor and few actually do. The program started during the 9/11 Bus trip where we picked up Chicago Firefighters, Philadelphia Firefighters, Baltimore Firefighters, Cataret Firefighters and Northrop Grumman, among others, as $911 Sponsors.

Back then, we put our sponsor logos on the side of the giant bus and thousands would see them as it traveled across the U.S. for months. Today, we do things a bit differently. You see, we feel if you are willing to step up and help us out, we are willing to promote your organization from our website, blog, newsletters, 4 Facebook pages, press releases, trade shows and Twitter. It is no secret that our promotion works--we have plenty of testimonials we can send those with cold feet. Many will still spend thousands for trade magazine ad's when they can spend far less with us and get tons more promotion.

The 9/11 Patch Project is the largest, longest running and farthest reaching firefighter owned 9/11 project in the world. We are proud to make that claim and hope that you consider helping us continue to do great work all over the world to remember the heroes of 9/11. We need heroes too--become ours HERE.

Brett Hill- Former Firefighter/Paramedic & Founder
9/11 Patch Project

9/11 Dog Tag & Challenge Coin

The 9/11 Patch Project recently released the 9/11 Firefighter Dog Tag. Due to the popularity and long-standing history of the Original 9/11 Patch design, we have created a Stainless Steel Dog Tag. Made of 1.25mm thick stainless steel, this stunning dog tag keychain is precision-etched and features  a special, protective lacquer coating on both sides.  Comes with a 26″ ball chain so you can wear it around your neck and keep the heroes close to your heart. Size: 2″ x 1-1/4″ We also added two more items to the 9/11 Patch Project Store; a 9/11 Never Forget Wristband and a 3 3/4" 9-11 Tenth Patch. Follow this link to purchase these items now: LINK

We are also proud to be releasing our 1st 9/11 Challenge Coin.  After several revisions, we have finished the coin and it is currently being produced. We anticipate them being ready for sale in less than a week. These high quality coins would normally sell for about $18-$20 but we are selling them for only $12! We feel this is a fair price, allows for many to be able to purchase the coin and still allows us to raise funds. If you want to reserve your coin(s) please email project founder Brett Hill with the amount you want and we will add you to the list. Those that get on the list, will have first dibs on the coins. We currently have reserved 50 and will have another 200 reserved in this first round.

Falling Man Billboard in NYC

To David Dunlap- New York Times:
Dear Mr. Dunlap,
As the founder of one of the longest running and farthest reaching 9/11 Projects, called the 9/11 Patch Project, I couldn't help but respond to your request for comments on the recent Mad Men billboard.

Let me preface my response by saying that I have been a fan of the show Mad Men, but have always wondered about the opening of each show, where there are business men falling from the sky. I am sure there is some significance in this opening to the content of the show in terms of a metaphor that relates to the high stress and competitiveness of the ad business in the early sixties. As for the campaign and the billboard placement, the man falling literally hits too close to home.

It is understood that campaigns for such shows are designed to catch the eye and provide a subtle yet powerful influence on fans of the show, those that may be curious about the show and those that have been sitting on the fence, deciding whether or not they are fans. In this particular case, there appears to have been no thought in this campaign towards the sensitivity of New Yorkers and others, that a man falling from the sky can bring back the horrible images on 9/11 when multiple people jumped from the WTC towers that were raging with fire.

In my opinion, there is a profound responsibility of advertisers and promoters to continuously be sensitive to how they create their campaigns--especially when displaying their billboards in front of folks who were witness to or victims of such a horrible crime. 9/11 is engrained in the minds of American's and people around the world. Even placing such a billboard in the Los Angeles area would probably be insensitive and distasteful.

Does this change my interest in the show? No it doesn't but I am sure they will not gain respect and admiration by any who are on the sidelines. The show is one thing and the campaign to promote it is another. Just as there are consequences on the show for the characters to create tasteful campaigns, they should hold their own advertisers to the same standards and be prepared to deal with the "fall out," should they miss their mark so dramatically.

"Please Don't Forget Us"

FDNY with the 9/11 Patch Project Bus Tour

You've all heard the story about how the 9/11 Patch Project began, many times...but I believe it is worth repeating. The four words, "Please Don't Forget Us," were spoken to a LAFD Firefighter from an FDNY Firefighter as they were parting their ways in late September of 2001. I heard these words from my Firefighter friend, shortly after he returned home from his Task Force deployment at Ground Zero. My response was creating the 9/11 Patch Project. Getting a 9/11 Tribute Patch on all uniforms has been the project's quest these past 10 years along with raising much needed funds for 9/11 related non-profits.

The project gets 90% of it's funding though the sale of the 9/11 Patches, Decals, Pins and other fund raising items. Occasionally, there is a donation made via the 9/11 WALL or on our Donation Page, which also helps to keep this project afloat.

There has not been enough funds coming into the project since last September, when we made nearly $20,000 in donations to the NYC Bravest Scholarship Fund, the Terry Farrell Fund and the Feal Good Foundation. Many orders and some donations allowed us to accomplish this.

Today, orders are trickling in and donations are rare. We need your help. If you feel the project should continue then please consider helping out in any of the following ways:

1. Order your 9/11 Patches & Decals HERE


2. Become a Sponsor for only $91.10 and get your website banner and link on our site HERE


3. Get your name or organization on the 9/11 WALL for only $9.11 HERE

4. Or make any size donation HERE

Thanks for what you are willing or able to do to insure we continue doing the great work of the 9/11 Patch Project for at least another 10 years!

We could use your help!

All four of the 9/11 Patches

You get high quality 100% embroidered 9/11 Patches designed to remember and honor the heroes of 9/11--we get much needed funds into the project.

This is how the project has worked the past 10 years and we are hoping that we can continue doing our great work another 10 years--but it is up to you.

Although the project was created to provide one of four 9/11 Tribute Patches for Fire, EMS, Police and U.S. Military uniforms or other clothing, the patches can be purchased by anyone in the public. Beyond the four patches, the project has created 10 decals that can also be purchased to support the heroes of 9/11 by placing them on your vehicles.

The decals range from 2.5" X 3.5" to 8.5" X 11" and are high quality fade resistant 3M products. The decal material is the same that was used to wrap the 9/11 Bus for the 10 Yr 9/11 Manhattan to Manhattan Tour and is also fire rated.

For those who already have some of the 9/11 Patches and Decals, we would be honored to have your name or your organizations name on the 9/11 WALL. This is a very inexpensive way to contribute while still helping the project raise Funds. Once again, here are the links to the different ways you can contribute to the 9/11 Patch Project:

1. Order your 9/11 Patches and Decals HERE

2. Get quantity discounts and Specials HERE

3. Get your name or organization on the 9/11 WALL HERE

4. Make any size Donation HERE

5. Become a Sponsor for minimal cost HERE

Thanks again to those who have supported the project all these years and thanks to those who decide to contribute in any of the above ways to insure we continue at least another 10 years!

What If?

Having posted hundreds of times on the NeverForget911 & 911PatchWebsite Facebook pages over the last two years, I have to ask myself...what if? With over 366,000 (combined) members here because they want to honor and remember the heroes of 9/11, what if everyone purchased one decal--or one patch--or secured a spot on the 9/11 WALL of Supporters? What would that do for the 9/11 Patch Project that I have run for over 10 years?

The answer is simple; donations in the thousands could be made to the three charities the project supports, more donations could be made to other 9/11 related charities, the project could afford to get the message out to more organizations, patches and decals can once again be donated to those organizations that can't afford to purchase them for their uniforms, every FDNY, NYPD & PAPD 1st Responder could get a patch for their uniform or jacket, the project could afford to purchase merchandise at incredible discounts, the project could afford to have booths at national Fire, EMS & Police events and finally, the 9/11 Patch Project would be able to continue doing great things for at least another 10 years.

Is it a tall order? Yes, but probably not for the reasons you would think. History has proven that getting everyone on the same page (no pun intended) is far more difficult than letting go of  $2.50. I don't think the deal stopper would necessarily be a small but monumental purchase-- it's more about thousands of people out there that all have different thoughts on how they will remember and honor the heroes of 9/11.

Messages like this that market to targeted audiences (like you) statistically return less than a fraction of a percent--and sometimes up to 2 percent. I'm hoping to change those statistics and continue doing the work that I love to do. I personally fill all orders and if I am up to midnight every day getting one decal or patch to each you, than so be it--this is what I gladly signed up to do over 10 years ago.

$2.50 gets you one of the decals, $4.50 gets you one of the patches and $9.11 gets you on the 9/11 WALL of Supporters. $1 even helps!

Thanks to all of you in advance, for what you are willing to contribute!

Where you can put your government conspiracies on 9/11!

A recent exchange between myself and a 9/11 Conspirator, on one of my facebook pages, compelled me to break my silence on the 9/11 government conspiracy theories...so here it comes!

Like Lemmings following one lemming after another off the cliff, these ridiculous and severely unintelligent 9/11 conspirators, continue to spew their amazingly stupid theories on 9/11. It is not only offending but it is distracting, insensitive and flat out ignorant... and I for one, have really had it!

Imagine our government conspiring with Al Qaeda to train 19 terrorists to commandeer and fly large passenger jets full of innocent people into buildings full of more innocent people--buildings that were wired with explosives that would detonate and bring both towers down killing thousands--including 343 FDNY Firefighters, 23 NYPD officers, 37 Port Authority Officers and 11 EMT's and Paramedics?

What is the strategy of our government to co-conspire or plan the nation's most horrific event that would kill nearly 3000 American Citizens? Any intelligent person would stop right there--because there is no motive and nothing to gain. The past 10 years waterfall effect (as opposed to trickle down effect) can attest to that. What government would plan their own countries tragedy and financial ruin? So many examples of how stupid a theory it is, that there is not enough time in the day to site them all.

In September of 2010, I was part of the 9/11 ceremonies at the Santa Monica pier in Santa Monica, California. While sitting at a display honoring the victims of 9/11, a "9/11 Truther," (middle aged-well dressed male) came up to me and said, "You look intelligent...you know from an engineers perspective and training, it is impossible for those towers to collapse straight down like that without demolition." I told him I was not an engineer or a 9/11 Truther and there was absolutely nothing he could say that would make me believe our own government had something to do with the planning of the WTC tower collapses. He wouldn't let up. He was so convinced he was right that he would not accept anything logically said to dispute his theories. He was simply a lemming or a lover of conspiracies...either one has no place at a ceremony dedicated to honor the victims of 9/11. But of course, this country offers FREEDOM OF SPEECH...allowing total idiots to rant and rave about absolutely backwards ass conspiracies.

There are even groups out there that claim major broadcasting agencies were behind it as well--televising specially edited photos that showed planes flying into the WTC towers when they actually didn't. Too stupid to waste your energy responding too.

I've kept quite all these years while trying to promote healing and unity following the events of 9/11 that I have stayed away from such people and conversations. As needless as it is to hear, I want to male my position clear on 9/11. American hating terrorists planned an event designed to instill fear in Americans, kill thousands and disrupt our lives for years to come. Their lone acts of terrorism worked. Period.

I will not debate anyone that posts comments here or on any of my facebook pages about 9/11 Conspiracies--they will simply be deleted as fast as possible. It is not that I am close-minded, its just that the theories are designed by raving lunatics to distract from the real truth behind 9/11--thousands died and we are still feeling the effects 10 years later.

My job, even after 10 years, is to insure that the memories of our lost heroes are never lost. That is what the 9/11 Patch Project is about and that is what is important to me.