On bended knees, he anointed the fallen firefighter … and the woman whose body had fallen on the firefighter.

In prayer and respect,  he had had removed his helmet.

Within moments, the New York Fire Department Chaplain was mortally wounded in the back of the head by falling debris.

In uncounted minutes,  his fellow firemen “… took his body, and … because they respected and loved him so much … didn’t want to leave it in the street. … They quickly carried it into a church … up the center aisle … covered it with a sheet, and … on the sheet, they placed his stole and fire badge. Then they knelt down and they thanked God”… for Father Mychal Judge.

“And, then they rushed back to continue their work.”

That was 10 years ago last Sunday.

It hardly seems a decade has passed since “America’s Second Day of Infamy” — Sept. 11, 2001.

Last year, reflecting on that fateful day, I wrote about a song, a patriotic hymn.

The lyric by Darryl Worley hauntingly asks each of us what should remain the core of every citizen’s recollection:

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire

and her people blown away …

As the haunting lyric replays in our national memory, we must find our way to make room for several pointed questions. 

The first:

Have they forgotten?

Yet again, the “they” to whom I refer are the apologists and politicians who choose to confuse, manipulate, and in so doing, disrespect the memory of all those who died that fateful day.

Last year, it was the issue of a mosque too near ground zero in New York.

This year, it is “no prayer allowed” during the memorial services at ground zero.

All this has been perpetrated annually during the run-up to the memorial observance of the dastardly terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell

Can it be that some of the “they” are so politically self-centered, so calloused, that those among us who lost family members and friends must go “… thru a living hell” all over again?

Can it be that some of the “they” have become willing pawns in the ongoing assault on America?

Can it be that some of the “they” personify the numerous “Achilles heels” in the soft underbelly of America?

What about our freedom, and this piece of ground

We didn’t get to keep ‘em, by backing down

And, we won’t get to keep our country sovereign by caving to either international adversaries or wilting under any of the pernicious attacks and accusations perpetrated by domestic progressives.

Let’s hope this past Sunday, Sept. 11 … individual Americans everywhere, in their own way, decided to send a clear message to all.

Perhaps  at public 9/11 memorials round our nation, citizens spontaneously prayed aloud.

Perhaps, too, like Father Mychal Judge did 10 years ago, you, me and all of our fellow citizens … “removed hats and helmets … on bended knees … in prayer and respect … thanked God … for all our blessings … and all our fallen brethren.

Richard Olivastro is president of Olivastro Communications and founder of Citizens for Change. A professional member of the National Speakers Association, he is available pro bono for charitable fundraisers and public forums and can be reached via e-mail at RichOlivastro@gmail.com or by phone at 1-877-RichSpeaks.