9/11 family connection still close, thousands of miles away

PADOVA, Italy - Vanessa Dotson moved to Italy one month ago with her husband, Sgt. Jakia Dotson, a Soldier with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, and their 2-year-old daughter. On Sept. 11, the family stood at a memorial ceremony in Padova to honor the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Vanessa was born in 2001, just months before the attacks, and has a personal connection to that day. Her uncle, Lt. Philip Petti, a New York City firefighter, died at Ground Zero while attempting to rescue people in the South Tower before its collapse.

The Dotsons joined firefighters and first responders from U.S. Army Garrison Italy and the local community at the "Memory and Light" monument, helping keep Petti's memory alive for future generations.

"Not only for the U.S. but the entire world, being here I can see even more clearly now that it's important to remember," Dotson said. "It was a big turning point, especially for America, but the world itself. It's important to remember the sacrifice - almost 3,000 people gave their lives. They were just going to work on a beautiful, normal day."

Vanessa said her mother, who also attends annual 9/11 ceremonies, would be proud she honored her uncle's memory.

Sgt. Dotson said he values family and supports Vanessa's annual commemoration to her uncle.

"It makes me feel good being able to be there for her and continue her yearly tradition of attending a 9/11 ceremony," he said.

Though the monument is thousands of miles from New York City, it contains a piece of the World Trade Center - a six-meter steel beam from the South Tower, where Petti and his battalion were working to save others when he died.

The memorial is shaped like an open glass book, with "pages" resembling the Twin Towers steel and glass. One page even aligns with the direction of the Statue of Liberty.

Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, who also led the World Trade Center reconstruction, the monument stands as a symbol of resilience and shared values from Italy to the U.S and beyond.

Anyone with the desire to visit the memorial can use the following address for GPS: Via Giotto, 13, Padova, Italy 35137.