MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Yesterday, we remembered the lives lost during a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York City. Local police and fire departments found their own ways to pay respect.

Red, white, and blue is an American's way of showing their patriotism, but these colors are also a constant reminder of what happened 17 years ago.

Delhi Township Fire Chief Brian Ball gets goosebumps as he talks about that day 17 years ago.

"I was a World Trade Center responder," Ball said. I left at six o'clock that night.

Ball's way of remembering was giving a speech at Delhi's memorial event where a bell rang to honor those who lost their live on 9/11.

" I actually remember everyday," Ball said. "Being able to do this does mean a lot."

Chief Ball says he focuses on what happened on the day after the attacks.

"On September 12th, we were reunited in one mission and that was to help each other and to take care of the enemy that attacked us on our home ground," Ball said.

As a former solider, Meridian Township Police Sergeant Chris Lofton's first reaction was to go to war when he heard about the attacks.

"It was clear blue skies and out of nowhere, there were mothers, fathers, sisters, daughters, husbands, everything, right there, gone," Lofton recounts.

9/11 is one of the many reasons why Lofton chose to become a police officer.

"Every year I see pictures, I'm just as angry," Lofton said. "I am taken back to that day and I remember being home and I actually watched the second plane hit the tower live and I still get just as angry about it."

Both first responders can agree on the importance of teaching the younger generation about what their country rose from.

"I think this is one that absolutely needs to be taught to our children," Ball said.