Chicago has been called 'The City with Big Shoulders'. She has seen more than her share of catastrophe, disaster and tragedy through the years. The Great Chicago Fire. The Iroquois Theatre Fire. The Eastland Disaster. Flight 191. But it is through these trials of the human spirit that this city has grown stronger and more viable, providing the foundation of the spirit and strength of this great city.

With the terrorist events of September 11th, we have discovered that we are a country of even bigger shoulders. And even bigger heroes. Even though the news media now rarely covers the 24 hour a day work still in progress at the mountain of rubble that once was the World Trade Center towers, we know that workers are still tirelessly sifting through the rubble. We mourn for the lost. And we remember the heroes: The firemen. The policemen. The mayor rallying the spirit of his city. The list goes on. No one needed to go looking for heroes. Soon we discovered that a hero, in our own way, lived within each one of us. Giving blood. Fundraising for the Red Cross. Donating money. Praying. Flying our flags proudly.

Many people have said, or believe that this country has changed forever, for better or for worse. In some ways, this is true. But the spirit, heroism and promise of America has not, and will not change. In looking back in retrospect on the Eastland Disaster, you can see the same heroic qualities emerge that make our country great.

It was an overcast Saturday morning on July 24, 1915 when the Eastland began loading passengers. The ship was chartered for the Western Electric Hawthorne Club picnic in Michigan City, Indiana that day. Western Electric employees with their families and friends crowded aboard the Eastland, the first ship to leave on the excursion that morning. With a reported full capacity, the Eastland prepared to depart from her dock between Clark and LaSalle Streets. But before the bow lines could be cast off the Eastland capsized on her port side, sending more than 2,500 aboard into and below the water. Over 844 people perished, mostly women and children.

Within minutes after the disaster, the city sprung into action, as rescuers rushed to the scene to help those in peril. And heroes emerged from where there were none: The bridge tender. The iron workers with their cutting torches. A boy from the train. The policemen and firemen. The salvage divers. From wharfsmen to doctors and nurses they came. And all became as one. There were no ethnic boundaries or social divisions. Only one common goal. They were the heroes - rescuing the living, and respecting the dead.

In the wake of this tragic disaster, Chicago pulled together and planned a fund-raising relief effort of the Mayor's Committee to raise $200,000 in two weeks for the Red Cross Relief Fund. Quite a lofty goal for 1915. But instead, the committee raised $350,000 in that time frame, demonstrating the tremendous emotional outpouring from the citizens of Chicago. This money was distributed by the Red Cross to cover the funeral expenses of the dead, and the living expenses of the survivors. The Eastland Disaster evoked a benevolence, a selflessness, and a cooperation in the face of catastrophe that bared the soul of Chicago, and its charitable heart.

And the list of heroes goes on: Telephone operators working their switchboards for 3 days straight. Marshall, Field & Company delivering blankets to aid the survivors, and providing 39 delivery trucks for use as ambulances and hearses. Businesses opening their doors to become makeshift information bureaus, hospitals, and morgues. The crew of the freighter Schuylkill, lowering their lifeboats and pulling countless victims from the murky water. And the numerous rescuers continuing to work day and night, enduring the grim task of locating and retrieving lifeless bodies.

It is a certain travesty of history that the Eastland is but a forgotten memory for many citizens of Chicago and this nation. Unlike the Eastland, we today, and future generations, will never forget the impact of September 11th on our lives. But all too soon, the names and the faces of these heroes will fade from the general public’s memories.

Remember the heroes. Honor the heroes. Be the heroes. And never forget them.