CRANBERRY TWP — Nathan Hezlep has no conscious memory of the events that unfolded on Sept. 11, 2001, but he does understand the gravity of them.

Hezlep can remember traveling to New York City as a 9-year-old with his father and other local firefighters to collect a piece of steel from one of the World Trade Center towers that would eventually become the centerpiece of Cranberry Township’s Sept. 11 memorial.

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“At a young age, they taught me about the events and the impact and the fallout,” Hezlep said. “You form a greater appreciation for everything that was done that day from the first responders’ side.”

Hezlep, who has served 10 years and is now a lieutenant with the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, was one of dozens o

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