September 11th - Never Forget Patch

The September 11th Never Forget Patch is a circular commemorative embroidered patch centered on the New York City skyline on the morning of September 11, 2001: the Twin Towers rising in black silhouette against a blue sky, with "NEVER FORGET" arched across the top and "SEPT. 11TH / 2001" placed at center. The border wraps the design in an American flag pentagon, blue field and stars at the upper section, red and white stripes on the sides, yellow accent stars flanking the text, and a black merrow outer ring. The design is detailed, specific, and unmistakable.

2,977 people died on September 11, 2001. 343 of them were FDNY firefighters. 23 were NYPD officers. 37 were Port Authority Police officers. Those numbers do not require context for the people who were there: in New York, at the Pentagon, in Shanksville, or in any firehouse or precinct that lost someone that morning. For the military and first responders who deployed in the months and years afterward, the date is equally significant. September 11th is why they went.

The embroidery is dense and well-executed. The Twin Towers are clearly recognizable in the center silhouette, the rest of the city skyline spreading below them. The blue sky field behind the towers is the same clear blue that people across the country remember from that morning. The flag elements in the pentagon border are cleanly rendered, the stars legible, the stripes straight. The yellow accent stars flanking the text read correctly at a distance.

This patch goes on memorial vests, tribute displays, gear bags, and tactical equipment. Firefighters, police officers, military veterans, and civilians who were alive that day wear it. It also goes into shadow boxes beside badges, medals, and photographs. More than 20 years later, the people who put this patch on have not decided to forget.

The towers. The date. Two words that still mean everything.