Foundation Hall is a room of massive scale and soaring height. Here, the “slurry wall,” a surviving retaining wall of the original World Trade Center that withstood the devastation of 9/11, is presented as a testament to survival and determination. Against this backdrop the “Last Column,” stands 36-feet high and is covered with mementos, memorial inscriptions, and missing posters placed there by ironworkers, rescue workers and others. Removed during a ceremony to mark the close of the recovery effort at Ground Zero, the column, laid prone, was draped with an American flag and escorted by honor guard. Standing tall once again, the Last Column will encourage reflection on the foundations of resilience, hope, and community with which we might build our collective future.

The above description, courtesy of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum’s website, could not be more accurate. I experienced New York’s 9/11 Museum in April and will never forget what I saw. Every American should visit this stirring memorial.

Fourteen years after 9/11, our nation’s military is still fighting terrorism around the world. In addition to the courageous Americans who stepped forward after the worst terrorist attack in our country’s history, a new generation is now volunteering to serve.

Yesterday, I shared a U.S. Army photo of Basic Training at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood. Incredibly, the youngest men and women to wear our nation’s uniform were still in preschool on Sept. 11, 2001. Yet by volunteering to serve, they are showing the same selfless spirit as the brave firefighters who rushed into the burning World Trade Center and Pentagon, as well as the valiant passengers who overtook the terrorists on United Flight 93. They are putting service before self.

Thousands of Americans were murdered on Sept. 11, 2001. Thousands more have been injured or killed in war since. On Sept. 11, 2015, we honor all 9/11 victims, survivors and family members, who have inspired us for the last 14 years. We also salute the brave men and women who have served and sacrificed since. Like the 9/11 Museum in New York, your stories are a “testament to survival and determination.”

Tom Sileo is a Senior Editor of The Stream. He is co-author of Brothers Forever: The Enduring Bond between a Marine and a Navy SEAL that Transcended their Ultimate Sacrifice.