09/07/2026
🇺🇸 Some memories don’t fade. Some stories must be told.
This Friday, Manatee Schools Television shares the story of Rob Crozier, a second-year School Safety Guardian serving at Dr. Mona Jain Middle School and a retired NYPD Sergeant with 22 years of service.
On September 11, 2001, Rob was at a training facility about 30 miles away when he watched the unimaginable unfold on live television.
Like so many first responders, he returned home to make sure his family was safe and then headed to Ground Zero.
But Rob remembers something else about those days — the everyday people who showed up to support the heroes.
Among the memories he holds closest is an American flag, handmade with finger paint by his own children and their classmates at McKenna Elementary School in Long Island, New York.
Weeks after the attacks, the students and school presented it to Rob. He kept it.
25 years later, that flag still tells a very big story — a story of loss, courage, community, and the kindness of strangers who refused to let our first responders stand alone.
Rob’s story is one of many.
The School Safety Guardians who shared their experiences with MSTV represent just a small part of the many retired law enforcement officers from New York and surrounding areas, currently serving our schools, who carry their own memories of September 11th.
As we approach the 25th anniversary, we hold them — and everyone whose life was forever changed that day — in our thoughts.
🇺🇸 We remember. We honor. We never forget.
