Never Forget

Never Forget Tribute — Sixty Million Hits

sixty millionJust a few minutes ago, the counter on the Never Forget Tribute advanced past sixty million hits. Each time the graphic is served up on web pages that embed the tribute, the hit counter advances by one. Damsel and I thank those of you who have taken the time to embed the tribute on your websites. It’s people like you who know that America, and the World, can Never Forget. We are grateful that so many of you care.

In less than a year, the graphic has received ten million hits. Last March 15th, the counter clicked past fifty million. You can see the progress in the sidebar (if you have JavaScript enabled) which gets updated every several seconds thanks to the AJAX (asynchronous JavaScript and XML) script I developed to place under the graphic. Watch it for a while and you will see the counter advancing as websites all over the world serve up an instance of the tribute.

The animation was originally inspired by an anonymously-produced PowerPoint slideshow making the rounds on the Internet and via emails after 9/11. I gathered some of the graphics and produced the prototype of the graphic to display on my personal website. After refinements and improvements suggested by Damsel and others, it appears as it does today. This is the graphic seen in the right sidebar depicting the attacks on America by terrorists. Last year, I added the tribute to the U.S.S. Cole to the package. Prior to that, I included the graphics for Flight 93 to the original tribute.

In August of 2005, I made the animation available to anyone. The offer was only taken by a few sites at first, but since then, many more have begun displaying the animation. As of December 2005, there were over 200 sites linking to it, and that number has been growing since. Sites in the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, the UK, Italy and several other countries, display the tribute on their pages.

To all of you displaying the tribute, thank you for reminding your readers to Never Forget.

2996 Project – Patriot Day 2009 – Remembering Zep

Damsel and I are very proud to be able to honor Marc Scott Zeplin on the eighth anniversary of the Islamic Terrorist Attacks against America on September 11, 2001 and to be part of the 2996 Project. This is the fourth year we have posted about Marc Scott Zeplin.

Zep” is what his friends called him. Zep was one of the 2996 victims who perished in the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Marc Scott Zeplin, age 33.

Place killed: World Trade Center. Resident of Harrison, N.Y. (USA).

Marc Zeplin worked in the World Trade Center offices of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company. Reading what Marc’s friends and family have written about him, Marc was well-liked and respected by peers, friends and others who wrote words about him following his death.

The following is from Zep’s tribute at the memorial site that his company set up to remember their employees that were lost in the attack:

Date of Birth: January 12, 1968

Department: Equity Sales

A group of friends named and registered a star in the heavens in memory of Marc Zeplin. How fitting as he was a star in the eyes of so many.

Successful as an equity trader, he formed close relationships with his clients but he was foremost a family man. Marc was very caring and devoted to his wife Debra, sons Ryan (3 yrs old) and Ethan (10 months), parents, sister and in-laws. He adored his children and treasured the time he spent with them. Marc was very proud of the new home he and his wife built in Westchester and enjoyed the change from urban to suburban living.

Raised in Long Island, Marc attended Oceanside High School and the University of Michigan where he also continued to earn a master’s degree in the acclaimed business school. Marc’s first career calling was sports casting. He loved sports of all kinds and enjoyed broadcasting games in Michigan during his college years. However, when he returned to New York, he found immediate employment in the financial world and soon after started at Cantor Fitzgerald where he became a partner.

Marc was truly a “master of the word.” He knew how and what to say in order to put you at ease, make you laugh or help you resolve a problem. Marc loved people. He had many friends and demonstrated a zest for living life to the fullest. He was tops in every way. He even worked at the top. The right position for so many years unfortunately was wrong on only one day – September 11, 2001.

Debra Zeplin and Leora Zeplin, Marc’s Wife and Mother.

Please join us today as we remember Marc Zeplin and the rest of the victims of those attacks, and please, NEVER FORGET.

Flight 93 β€” Courage Remembered

We got our e-newsletter from the National Parks Service today. One interesting write-up tells about the events scheduled for Shanksville, site of the Flight 93 crash:

fight_93_large.jpgUpon This Sacred Ground, Courage Remembered,” is the theme for the eighth anniversary of the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. A new national park is being created at this sacred ground, commemorating the heroism of the 40 passengers and crew members.

A number of activities will take place in observance of September 11. A special ceremony will be held in Shanksville during the morning and is open to the public. General Colin Powell will deliver keynote remarks, and country music performer Trace Adkins will sing the national anthem. The names of the passengers and crew members will be read at 10:03 a.m. β€” the exact time of the crash β€” by family members, first responders and local residents.

A small group of Flight 93 family members are embarking on Ride With the 40, a cross-country motorcycle journey to “complete Flight 93.” The riders will leave from Newark Liberty International Airport on September 3 and stop in towns and cities along the way before arriving in San Francisco on September 11. A traveling temporary memorial, similar to one displayed in Shanksville, will accompany the riders during their 3,000-mile trek.

In addition, an up-to-date listing of these and other activities to commemorate Flight 93 and September 11, as well as information about supporting the Flight 93 National Memorial Campaign, can be found at honorflight93.org.

Project 2996 – Patriot Day is Coming Soon

armsofproject2996.jpgPatriot Day – September 11th – commemorating the victims of the terrorist attacks on America in 2001 is coming soon. We must Never Forget.

If you have a blog, please consider signing up to honor a victim of the attacks. D. C. Roe, the original 2996 organizer, has renewed the call for patriots to sign up to honor the victims on September 11th. Go to the Project 2996 Sign-up Page and select your honoree.

Project 2996 started on the fifth anniversary of the attacks in 2006. Each year since that time we have honored Mark Scott Zeplin, a victim of the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. We signed up for that honor again this year.

We also are going to insert a link in the Never Forget Tribute to the Project 2996 Sign-Up Page. The tribute is seen on hundreds of websites world-wide and this will help to spread the word.

Fifty Million Hits – Never Forget Tribute

Fifty Million HitsThe statistics counter on the Never Forget Tribute should roll past 50,000,000 later this evening. Each time the graphic is served up on web pages that embed the tribute, the hit counter advances by one. Damsel and I thank those of you who have taken the time to embed the tribute on your websites. It’s people like you who know that America, and the World, can Never Forget. We are grateful that so many of you care.

The animation was originally inspired by an anonymously-produced PowerPoint slideshow making the rounds on the Internet and via emails after 9/11. I gathered some of the graphics and produced the prototype of the graphic to display on my personal website. After refinements and improvements suggested by Damsel and others, it appears as it does today. This is the graphic seen in the right sidebar depicting the attacks on America by terrorists. Recently, I added the U.S.S. Cole attacks in tribute to the 17 Sailors murdered by terrorists.

In August of 2005, I made the animation available to anyone. The offer was only taken by a few sites at first, but since then, many more have begun displaying the animation. As of December 2005, there were over 200 sites linking to it, and that number has been growing since. Sites in the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, the UK, Italy and several other countries, display the tribute on their pages.