ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Ground was broken today for a 9/11 memorial for first responders at Gary Beikirch Memorial Park at Highland Park. News10NBC’s Chief Investigative Reporter Berkeley Brean met two men on the front line who were at Ground Zero.

One was Mike Fowler, the chief deputy of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. On 9/11, he was in the National Guard in Buffalo.

Chief Deputy Michael Fowler, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office: “It was shortly after the second plane hit the second tower that I got a phone call from the state telling me to activate our soldiers and bring them in. And my response to them was – they’re already on their way.”

When Fowler arrived in Manhattan, he remembers seeing family members of first responders and people that worked in those buildings lining the road, pleading with them and handing them pictures of loved ones, asking them to look for them.

The RPD’s Paul Dondorfer was a rookie cop in the NYPD on 9/11.

Paul Dondorfer, NYPD on 9/11: “It was eerily quiet. A lot of the firemen trapped in the building, you could hear their alarms going off.”

Berkeley Brean, News10NBC: “You think about your time down there a lot?”
Paul Dondorfer: “All the time. It’s really weird. Twice a day I always seem to look at my clock with it’s 9:11. It’s weird. It happens every morning. And every night.”

The memorial is on county land, paid with state money and built by union labor. Monroe County Executive Adam Bello was working on Capitol Hill for the late Rep. Louise Slaughter on 9/11. He recalled how it unified people.

Adam Bello, Monroe County Executive: “No matter our politics, our religion, our wealth, where we’re from, none of that really mattered because we were all Americans.”

“And I think that’s a lesson that we still need to draw upon today,” Bello said.

The memorial will include a folded flag 9 feet high and twin towers 11 feet high.

Sheriff Todd Baxter, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office: “72 police officers. 343 fire fighters. I wish I could read the names of each one. They’re not numbers. These are humans who ran towards, ran towards and saved many lives.”

More first responders who were at Ground Zero have died from illness since September 11 than the number of first responders who died on that day.

One out of every three Americans today was born after 9/11.

Mayor Malik Evans: “For many young people September 11th is something they know only from history class. It is our responsibility to pass down the lessons of that day.”

This memorial will be unveiled on September 11, 2026, to mark the 25th year since the attack.

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