May He Forever Be His Mother's Son

Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.  For those of us blessed enough to not have been personally devastated by that day's events in that no one we loved and no one who loved us died that day, tomorrow is "that day" on the calendar.  For those who were far less fortunate, those whose life's trajectory was forever altered by the murder of a loved one, every day for the past twenty years has been "that day".   We must never forget.  They never can.  

Eight-year-old Kevin Villa at the funeral of his mother,

Yamel Josefina Merino on September 14, 2001

Photo Credit:  Stephen Schmitt/The Journal News

Yamel Josefina Merino was a rock star.  The 24-year-old single mom from Yonkers, New York earned her GED after her son, Kevin, was born and began working at MetroCare Ambulance when she was just 21 years old.  Her colleagues adored her.  Her positive demeanor and her compassion for those she helped won the admiration, affection, and respect of her co-workers.   

In less than three years, she had earned her EMT certification from Westchester Community College and had worked her way up from MetroCare's transport division to the 9-1-1 division.  She was the MetroCare EMT of the year in 1999.  It was her goal to become a nurse.  

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Yamel Josefina Merino was one of the first responders to arrive at the World Trade Center.  She volunteered to go into the towers while her partner remained behind with their ambulance.  She was helping people who had evacuated the South Tower just outside of the building when it collapsed.  She was killed while doing that which made her feel most fulfilled, which was helping others.  

Yamel Josefina Merino gave birth to Kevin when she was just sixteen.  Theirs was a relationship forged out of shared hardship that made their successes taste all the more sweet.  She had taken Kevin to Walt Disney World that summer, celebrating just how far they had come by spending some quality time at the Happiest Place on Earth.   

Yamel Josefina Merino, EMT

End of Watch:  09/11/2001

Kevin Villa is now twenty-eight years old.  He is older now than his mom was when she was killed twenty years ago.  He misses her every day and does what he can, every day, to honor her memory and to deal with her absence.  He shall never stop loving her.  He shall never stop missing her.  He shall never forget her.  

We owe it to her memory and to his life to make sure we do not forget her either.  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  Not ever.  

-AK