CORNELIUS -- The September 11 attacks are a a moment in time Steve Giordano says he'll never forget.
Giordano was on the 25th floor of the first tower. It took him 45 minutes to escape.
Sixteen Septembers later, Giordano describes what he saw that morning as a haunting nightmare.
Now, Giordano lives in Cornelius, where he joined first responders for the town's remembrance ceremony Monday.
He says he's grateful to be alive, and believes he was given a second chance at life.
"God gave me a purpose, another purpose, and I think it's to raise my four kids,” he said.
Giordano says every anniversary is a sobering moment.
But this year, he says it's upsetting to see the division in our country.
"We were so, so tight as a country weeks and months after 9/11, and we've come so far from that. And we're just the polar opposite of that now."
While none of us can change what happened 16 years ago, Giordano hopes this anniversary is a reminder that we can be better today than we were yesterday.
"We can be more compassionate to each other, kinder to each other."